My Poisonous Kiss
by ShadowingPassion9532
Summary: Da's mission was easy: Kill the Prince of Wu, but their eyes met, and she couldn't. Upon her failure, Her father sends her and her sister to Wu as servants to Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. Love at first sight? Or a meaningless night? DQ/SC & XQ/ZY
1. Chapter 1

_**Kind of an unexpected thing, life is. I sat down to write my chapter story, Are You Jealous Yet? And I wrote this instead. Kinda an addicting thing. I couldn't stop. I hope everyone out there enjoys this and I hope no one totally kills me because I wrote for this and not the other story! :P **_

_**Enjoy!!!**_

_**XXX**_

The night was a still one. The moon shined a white velvet across the castle and draped the night in an embrace that made the night seem peaceful and safe. Of course, she was only protecting her descendent as a mother often would.

Her cloak flew behind her as her feet kept a quiet, steady pace along the castle walls. With the moon as her only light, and no wind to slow her down, the assassin felt uplifted and confident. Her mission was clear and simple, and the request to do it at night made her the perfect one for the job.

Night was her specialty, and the moon always made her feel like part of it. People often called her "Goddess of the Night" for her ability to cloak in with it, and she always smiled when she heard it.

She stopped at the corner of the beautiful castle, and took in her surroundings. There were watchmen up ahead, and some near the gate.

She smiled: easy.

She waited for the patrolling watchmen near the gate to disappear behind the corner before pulling out her bow, one her father had specially made for her and her small frame, and aiming it towards the castle ledge. She took a deep breath and let it sail.

It didn't take long for the arrow to connect with the castle's ledge. She took one look at the moon, made a silent prayer for guidance, and started to climb. The climb wasn't easy, they never were, but she managed to reach the top.

She looked around the walkway before dropping down and hiding in the shadows.

Her instructor told her to avoid conflict, if possible. And she planned to do that, but also she wanted to have fun, and the owners of this castle could manage a guardsman or two, right?

She dashed down the walkway atop the castle's outer wall, and kept to the shadows. Although she wanted to have fun, she didn't want to start trouble out here. The last thing she needed was the inner guards to be on high alert. Her job of finding the Prince was going to be hard enough as is.

She stopped and hid as she saw one of the guard's ladders that led down. Her surveillance didn't last long. As she suspected, a guard was standing post.

No violence, huh?

She looked around to see if anyone else was there with him. There was none.

She pulled out a dagger with a black, slick handle, and threw it at him.

The dagger met it's target of the man's throat, and she ran and caught him and laid his body down gently before running to the ladder, and putting her feet and hands on the sides like she was trained to do, slid down it in a flash before landing on the ground and taking cover behind the shadows of some barrels.

She was now inside the castle gates.

"Phase one complete." She said.

She looked up into the gloriousness of what could only be the Wu castle. It was surrounded by another wall made of stone.

She surveyed the area in search of a watchmen ladder, but found none. She jumped out from behind the barrels and dashed along Phase One's wall.

Her search of the whole perimeter made her realize that she was going to have to get in another way. She couldn't use another arrow. That was against precaution. She couldn't go over the wall, and there was no way under it. And time was against her as is. Her stunt of killing the guardsman gave her a time limit.

She had to go in through the gates, but how?

Just as the thought went through her mind, the gated opened.

"Are these the last of the supplies?" the guardsman of the right gate asked, leaving his post.

"No." said the messenger. "Another one is preparing to leave. It will be here momentarily."

The guard nodded, checked the wagon, and told the man to continue on.

The assassin couldn't believe her luck. She took off to the other castle wall, and came to a halt.

A blazer. A patrolling man. He was walking along the wall.

She had to think of something, and think of something quick. She was standing right in the moonlight, and right in the watchman's sight. She quickly picked up a rock and threw it in the direction opposite of her.

Just as she hoped, the watchman made a sharp turn at the sound of the noise and began to run. She used the opportunity to dash away from him and towards the gate. She flung herself behind some boxes near the gate and tried to steady her breath.

_"You know better, Da Qiao! Don't be a fool. You just got lucky! Focus!"_

The patrolling man rounded the corner that he had disappeared to and was holding the rock that Da had thrown. He was shaking his head and muttering something to himself before the gates opened back up.

Da darted for the gates and, as the guard went to check the wagon, Da slipped in.

She didn't have long. She saw the door to the kitchen about to close from finishing the supplies, and she took off for it while the cook was rolling it shut. She neatly rolled under it and dashed off to find a shadow before the door closed and the cook, not even paying attention enough to know what happened, picked up her apron and left the room.

As soon as she left, Da let out a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding.

She was now in the castle.

She looked at the doorway that the cook had left out of and knew that it had led to a servant's quarters that for sure would have people in there at this time of night. She surveyed the area, as always was a precaution. Her vision was limited from where she hid.

She took one last look at the doorway lit up by blazers that the cook had vanished from and dashed through the kitchen. She made sure that she was on the other side of the room before diving behind a pile of barrels filled with wheat.

She surveyed this new location and found another hallway lit by blazers. She edged over to get a glimpse of the hallway, and saw only a part of the corridor.

Knowing that this was where the royals came in for midnight snacks, she smiled and ran to the doorway.

Not knowing what was behind walls was one of the things that she hated most. Knowing what to do though, and how to do it was always a comfort to her. She pulled out another dagger, and slowly slid it in the hallway for a better view and used it like a mirror to see down the corridor.

She saw blazers, hallways leading out of the corridor, and a window at the end. She didn't like that there wasn't much shade, but she would make do. She always did.

She stayed put for a few minutes, watching for movement of a guard or a maid. As there was none, she took a deep breath and moved swiftly through the hall. Her main goal was to make it across the hall and to the window for cover, and, while getting over there, she was going to check out the hallways that led out of this corridor. She ran to the window with a good idea of where the prince would be, when voices filled the corridor.

Da jumped fast up the wall, and braced herself on the ceiling.

"Now, seeing as you're new, the maids will report to the headmaster, me, at ten o'clock at night, and then go to bed and wake up at five. Your services will go to Lord Sun Ce, the Lord's oldest son. You make his bed when he wakes, make his bath when he stinks, and make sure that his room is as tidy as his teeth! All of the maids fond over him, but don't stay in there while he's taking a bath. Lady Sun does not approve, and neither does he."

The maids went past Da, not knowing that she was above them.

"He's down that corridor, behind the double doors. You will know it, he's the only one of the royal family that is down this corridor. He eats a lot, so that's why he's close to the kitchen. He likes his bath… and… don't be…h…"

The maids went out of her site and Da smiled at her luck. The moon was certainly blessing her.

She fell without a thud and crept down the hallway that the maid had pointed to earlier. She started to look around before walking more. This hallway was darker than the rest, and the blazers stopped at the entrance. She kept walking till she heard the rustle of armor. She stopped and hugged the wall and looked into the distance. Just as she saw the double doors, she saw the guards as well. She mentally cursed and looked out of the window for the moon. She couldn't see the moon, but its rays fell on something else: a balcony.

She looked at the guards, who looked sleepy other than attentive, and slipped back to the corridor. She went to the window she had hidden at before, took a look for people, then opened the window, pulling it up so it wouldn't make a squeak.

She stepped out and slid the window shut as best as she could and started to scale the building. She stopped every now and again to look for guards below. Seeing none, she kept going.

People from her association usually told her their fears for heights, but she was okay with them. They brought her closer to the moon and therefore closer to herself.

She took one more look below before taking one more step and leaping on the ledge of the Prince's balcony. She dropped down and crouched. She made her way to the door, and put her ear on the crack to listen for movement, but heard nothing.

She then examined the lock and tried the door before realizing the only way she was getting in was picking it. She pulled out her tools and started to pick the lock and smiled when she heard a click.

She stayed where she was for a few moments. It was precaution to stay put for a few minuted after picking a lock.

As soon as she counted a minute, she slowly slid the door open and stepped in, still in a crouch. She stopped and looked at the area and came to a bed.

She gasped.

The man before her was perfect. His body was adorned with scars, but also abbs that were from hard work. His face was captivating and his facial hair, on anyone else it would've looked dumb (and she should know. Lord Cao Cao wore it in a similar way.) but on him, it fit his face perfectly. His face, unworldly perfection, his body, one of a god. Of all the men Da had been after, he topped them all.

Never had she felt such a womanly yearning.

She walked closer to him and pulled her hood off her head to take in his features through unlimited eyes. He was every bit of perfect.

Then again, so was she.

Her hand reached to him to touch his skin, but a gust of wind came through the door that she dumbly left open, and his eyes darted awake and hit her's.

They stayed like this: perfection looking into it's equal. His mouth opened and a breath of surprise and overwhelming came over him.

His eyes looked her down. She was beautiful, there was no doubt, but he was limited in a way she was not: she could see him from the moon's rays, he couldn't see her clearly.

He saw her hand above his abdomen, and raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

But then their eyes met again. He was captivated. Her eyes, though the moon was behind her, glowed in the darkness with a green tent, and also of a wanting.

Without realizing it, his hand reached out toward her, and he was surprised to see her leaning in to it.

There was a bang followed by the doors opening.

"My lord, there's an assasin on the- ASSASIN!!!" The head guard yelled and pointed at Da.

She was off in a dash, heading for the balcony. She heard the rustling of sheets behind her and feet coming towards her, but she couldn't resist, at the ledge of the balcony, to look back.

Sun Ce stopped at the balcony entrance, she was on the ledge. She turned to him, and he gasped.

Half of her features were lit, but he could see that her perfection rivaled his.

She was beyond captivating, and suddenly, he realized he never had the company of a woman, and this made him hunger for her.

Before he knew it, she jumped.

He took off after her, dispite the qualms his guard was making about his decision.

His balcony wasn't high off the ground, so he made it safety. He saw the woman running across the field to the gates.

"Close the gates!" He yelled.

The guards got to work and started to close it. She was quick though, and the gates wouldn't go down that fast.

A guard got in her way, blocking her path. Ce thought that the man would catch her, but she easily danced out of his reach. Before any other guard could bet in front of her, she rolled under the bridge and started on a harded sprint.

Ce rolled under it and took off after her.

"Open the gates! Protect the prince!"

"Lord Sun Ce, plese come back."

The guards said.

He spread out his strides and tried to catch up with her before she reached the other gate.

Instead of running for the gate though, she took a sharp turn and started to run up on a watchman's ladder. She went up at a pace that made him realize that she was used to doing this, and he was going to have to give catching her his all.

He got to the top and saw her running to the right. He started to run.

"The assasin!"

"There he is!"

"Get him!"

Ce smiled. If only they saw her the way he had.

Guards came to stop her, but she jumped and kicked the first one into the others behind him. And dropped from the ledge.

This girl was full of suprises.

He ran to where she dropped down and saw the arrow and rope. He smiled. She was clever, too.

He jumped and slid down the rope.

Da dropped to the ground and looked up when the rope kept moving. She saw the prince coming after her.

Why hadn't this guy quit?

She turned and ran in the direction of the forest, when arrows came down at her.

"Don't shoot! You'll hurt the prince!" Someone from the top of the castle wall said.

She started to hear loud footsteps coming closer to her and she knew that the man was gaining on her.

Ce smiled. It was just her and him now. He didn't have to worry about her hurting anyone else. Just him and her.

He made his strides bigger and steadied out his breath as his muscles sang with the use of them.

She was now a few feet from him and he could tell that she knew it too.

She took a sharp turn and tried to mislead him, but he saw through this, and tackled her to the ground.

They tussled for a minute. He found her hands and locked them in an iron grip and rolled her on her back to see her beautiful face.

"Now look- AHH!!!" Her feet came up and wrapped his neck, pulling him back and to the ground, also making him release her hands. She joilted up and ran deeper into the forest.

She heard his footsteps and he dashed in front of her. He reached out to grab her hand, but Da slapped him away and went to punch his face. He grabbed her hand and went low to knock her off her feet, but she saw what he was going to do and jumped, dodging his blow. She landed and threw her foot up to hit his chest.

She met her target and he fell back. She started to run, but he grapped her feet and she fell, but got up fast. He was already on her, though, and he had her in a lock. He had his arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides.

The moon came out from the clouds and shined on her face. He gasped. She looked beautiful when her face was half lit, but now, while all of it was all lit, she was gorgous. Her hair was down, from their tussle, and her eyes, once shaded, were now full blown. The want and desire he had for her, was matched for him in her eyes. He started to realize he was liking the position of his arms.

Unfortunately, this was all the look he got when she raised her knee and the next thing he knew, he let her go and was going down on his knees, eyes going crossways.

He heard her run into the clearing not far from the castle, and whistle. A black stallion was by her side in a second, and she jumped on and rode off.

She looked back as he leaned against a tree. The thought to go after her ran through his mind, but he took one step and knew that he probably couldn't move fast enough.

He stayed leaning to the tree when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you hurt, my son?" Sun Jian asked his first born.

"Other than my groin area, I'm fine."

Jian smiled. "So it was a woman?"

"A woman bested you?" Ce turned to see Shang Xiang, his little sister, coming towards him.

"Yep." Ce admited. "But she was a pro." He looked in the direction that the woman left in.

"Ha!" Shang laughed.

"I think that she could've taken you on, Shang, and come out with your ass kicked." Ce told her. "She cheated on me."

"Nonsense. You have nothing there, so there should be no problem." She joked.

"Not now, Shang." Ce said.

"Did you see her?" Jian asked his son.

Ce paused. Should he tell his father and get the woman in trouble? "Nah, I couldn't see her. She was unbelievably quick."

"I heard that she was standing over you and had the chance to kill you right there. She would've escaped too. I wonder what stopped her." Jian muttered.

Ce shrugged, but he knew what it was. They both had a need for each other. A hunger. Something that Ce had never felt for any other woman. Then again, no other woman wanted to kill him.

_**---**_

Da truged into the castle that her father owned. He was Cao Cao's duke and also a master of spies and assasins. The one who taught Da everything she knew.

Her mission failed. Her very first mission to ever fail.

"Da," Xiao came out of the shadows. "Papa wants to see you, did you complete it?"

Da thought quickly. If she said no, her father would send another assasin and kill the Prince, but if she said yes, her father would find out differently and punish her.

"He wasn't there." Da said.

"Oh, that's odd. The scouts reported that he was."

"He went out for the night. I don't know where."

Xiao nodded. "Papa wants us though."

The Qiao's walked together to their father's office. Other than missions, the Qiao's were never apart. Da didn night missions while Xiao did day. Day was Xiao's speciality, night was Da's. Together, The Qiao's were unstoppable.

The door opened without a squeak.

"Hello, my dearest daughters." Qiao Xuan turned in his chair. "Still not quiet enough yet."

The sisters smiled at their father.

"Da, did you complete your mission?"

Da's smile faded. "I'm sorry, Papa, but the prince was out for the night."

Xuan signed. "Just what I feared. Okay, here's what we are going to do: I'm sending you two, under fake names, to work in the Sun household. I hear that they are looking for new members anyway, so, Da, you will be under the Prince Sun Ce, and Xiao…" he paused. "I think I will ask for you to be under their stratigest. I hear that they are good friends, and this will give you two chances to meet during the day, and give you two time to plan."

Xiao smiled. "Yay! We're together on a mission again!"

Qiao Xuan smiled. "Oh, Da, take this. It's poison. Use it only if necessary."

He handed Da the bottle. "Don't let me down, my beautiful girls, and keep each other safe." He stood up, rounded the desk and gave them a hug. "Now go and pack."

Da and Xiao left. As Xiao chattered on about the greatness of being on a mission together, Da looked at the bottle.

"_I let the man get the best of me! Not this time though! I will do this right!!!"_

**XXX**

**_What do you guys think? I really didn't plan on another story, but I hope this works out. I will try to update Are you Jealous Yet? Later on. But I wanted to do this. I certainly hope that I can manage two stories at once, plus I have my sister to help me, so I hope things will work out for the best!_**

**_Oh, and Happy Holidays!_**

**_Please leave a review!!!_**

_**ShadowingPassion9532**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**My Author Notes are at the bottom, so read the chapter, then them!**_

_**Enjoy!!!**_

_____

_It was day. Xiao's favorite time. The sun shined brightly as it always did in the early morning light. A slight breeze came through the carriage window and blew her bangs that she couldn't get into a maid bun across her face. She smiled at it and turned in her seat to meet her sister's warm eyes._

"_Is it pretty? The Wu castle?" She asked before turning back to the window to catch the sun's rays on her face. _

"_Oh yes, very pretty, and very big." Da answered with a smile to her sister. _

"_Hmm. It sounds lovely. Do they have a garden?" Xiao asked with her eyes closed._

"_I would assume so." Da said. _

_Xiao's smile never wavered, but her eyes opened, and once again, Da saw them glow the only way they could during the day. "I'm glad that we are working together, Da. It seems forever since we worked together."_

_Da's smile broadened. "What was our last joined assignment?"_

_Xiao closed her eyes. "The Henrietta family. We were given orders to kill them all, but there were so many at one place we had to work together."_

_Da laughed. "I remember that!"_

"_We couldn't have picked a better time! They had a family lock-in, and we pick pocketed the key from the owner. Remember when your bow got jammed? And you were just about to shoot the fat one too!"_

"_Then you had to come behind him and stick him with your dagger!" _

"_Or the time we were running from the Transylvania Royal Castle, and I got stuck in the tree?"_

_They were both laughing now. "I don't know how we got past those guards!" _

"_And Papa nearly killed us when we got home!" _

_Da spoke between giggles, "Or when we had to sneak into a cave and kill the group's leader without being seen, and my fire orb went off and it wasn't the orb that we thought we would get caught for, but out laughter?"_

_Xiao laughed. "That's because it exploded near your butt and it looked like you pooted on the flammable potions!" _

_There was a few minutes of laughter and mindful reminiscing when they subdued to giggles then eventually to a catching of breath._

_Xiao wiped a tear from her eye. "I wonder what the prince is like, don't you Da?"_

_Da's heart did a little flip and the memories of the night before came flooding back to her: the arrow, the scaling of the castle, the guards, the castle itself, and the prince. She didn't even know his name, and he occupied her thoughts every day._

"_I don't know, Xiao." She answered, angered at her mental confession of the man. "What about the strategist?"_

"_Pssht! Please! What's there to know? He's probably some old guy with a beard as long as our hair! Oh, God! I'm probably going to have to give him a sponge bath!"_

_Da giggled._

"_And what if he tries to give me a lesson during that?" Xiao put a hand up to her mouth in wonder. "What then?" She looked at Da hopefully. "Can I have some of that poison?"_

_Da smiled. "No, silly! Just think about all the ways to make a chocolate pudding when, and if he gives you those lectures."_

"_But then I'll get hungry."_

"_Then eat afterwards."_

_Xiao was about to say something, but the Qiao's carriage driver, Duffy, leaned and tapped the door._

"_You girls ready?" He asked in the front._

_Da and Xiao got serious and nodded to each other. "Yes." Da called._

"_Good, because if I'm right, we have ten minutes before we reach the castle gates. Get ready! And do you girls know your names and what your doing?"_

"_Yeah!" Xiao called. "Do I look like a maid?" _

_Da smiled and looked at her sister's attire. The girls had dressed in a deep red, the way Da remembered the servants wearing, and put their hair up in buns at the sides of their heads to indicate that they work for nobility. Xiao's beauty though made it hard to believe that the girl was just a maid and not a goddess. "As good of a maid like a beautiful lady can get!" Da answered._

"_Aw! Da!" Xiao gave her sister a hug._

"_Promise me you won't get into trouble."_

_Xiao rolled her eyes, "I promise."_

_Da smiled, "Or trees."_

_They both erupted into giggles._

"_Are you giggle ladies done in there? We're close. Take a look." Duffy spoke. _

_As soon as she did, Xiao gasped at the mighty thing which would be an insult to call a castle. It's rumors of being beautiful, didn't seem to do it quite justice. Even the gates surrounding the outer perimeter were gorgeous. _

"_What?" Da asked as she moved out of the shadows that she had stayed in while journeying, and looked to see the castle she had conquered the night before. _

"_Da! You didn't tell me that it was that beautiful!" Xiao complained, still in awe. _

"_Once you run from the guards here, it's not." Da rolled her eyes._

_Xiao sat back. "To tell you the truth, I'm not looking forward to this whole maid thing. I don't think that I'll be good at it."_

"_You'll do fine. We adjusted to being clam openers at that company."_

_Xiao rolled her eyes. "That's different." _

"_How so?"_

"_Because then we didn't have to give old, hairy strategist SPONGE baths!"_

_Da couldn't help it, she giggled. _

"_Oh, shut up!" Xiao waved her hand._

_Duffy's deep voice entered the carriage once again. "We're entering the city gates."_

_Da and Xiao both looked out the carriage window and watched as the city guards came to the carriage, spoke to Duffy, looked at Da and Xiao and let the gates open. The city was marvelous! There were merchants and kids running around, and also relics of the Wu kingdom that ranged from flags to paintings of the royal family. _

_They soon approached the second gate, the one that separated the castle from the city and Xiao looked at it in wonder._

"_How did you ever climb that huge wall?" she turned and asked her sister._

_Da signed. Her muscles still ached from scaling it. "It wasn't easy, I will admit."_

_Xiao whistled. "I'll say." _

"_Just some more maids that the lord had imported." Duffy said to the guard._

_The guard looked at Xiao and Da as they pretended to look at the gigantic palace, but were focusing on the guardsmen. They got waved in, and the girls smiled at the guards as they went by. One of the guards smiled back when the other one winked._

"_Making friends early?" Duffy asked them._

_Da smiled, "It doesn't hurt to have allies."_

_Duffy's booming laughter brought a smile to both of the girls' faces. "We're approaching another gate. How in the world did you get by all these gates?" _

"_The first one was easy. I acted like a citizen. The other two were harder." Da answered._

"_Ooh! I can't wait to see the inside!" Xiao said as she clapped her hands. _

_Da smiled and turned her attention back to the window. The last gate let them in without interrogation. The carriage was brought up to the front door, and then was brought around to the back. _

_This was it. Da smiled at Xiao. "Ready, Aurora?" Da asked her by her fake name._

"_Only if you are, Selene." Xiao smiled back. The carriage door was opened and Xiao stepped out…_

_____

_Sun Ce and Zhou Yu walked down the corridors to the door they were looked for: the training grounds. _

_Zhou Yu took in his friend's expression. "You haven't trained in awhile. Is that why you're so quiet?" _

"_No! It's because of all those damn questions that Mom and Pop are asking me. Did I see her? Did I-"_

"_Her?" Yu interrupted. "It was a female."_

"_Yup. And Shang won't let me forget it." _

_Yu smiled. That was about like the tomboy princess. "Do you want to tell me what happened that night? You and I have been so busy that we hardly get a moment's rest, much less talk." They sat on a bench on the training grounds and started to pull off the unnecessary clothing._

"_I really can't tell. I woke up because I felt a breeze on my behind, and I saw her standing over me, but she didn't have a dagger or nuttin'. And something happened, Yu." Ce stopped peeling off clothing and looked at his friend. _

_Yu's eyebrows knitted together. "What so you mean?"_

"_Her eyes, they glowed, at night. And she did something to me. Like, I've never wanted…a-a woman so much in my life. If the guards didn't open that door when they did, I'm afraid at what they might've seen."_

_Yu was silent for a moment. "Hmm. That's interesting."_

"_Yeah." Ce said as he continued pulling off his boots. "I just don't understand it."_

"_Have you talked with Sun Jian about this?"_

"_And say what? 'Hi, Pop! You know? That assassin? Yeah, I've had desires for her, and I want your advise.'" Ce laughed. "Do you realize how many times I would get bashed over the head with a sword if I said that?"_

_Yu smiled. "I meant about how to control manly cravings, not get a woman." _

"_He would want to know the girl. You never have any of these cravings?"_

"_Not to where I'd take a woman I didn't know to bed, no, but yes, I think that every man does, he just keeps it to himself."_

"_Yeah, I know what you mean." Ce got up and stretched. "But there was something different."_

"_What happened in the forest? I heard that there was a… collision." _

"_I ran after her, and we kinda tussled in the forest."_

"_Oh, a real way to when her heart."_

_Ce glared at him. "She won by hitting my groin area." _

"_Ow. Did you get a good look at her?" _

"_Enough to where I could identify her in a line up." _

_Yu was stretching now. "That's good."_

"_Not really. Her face haunts me. Let's get to training I need to work out." _

_____

"_Now, seeing as you're new, the maids will report to the headmaster, me, at ten o'clock at night, and then go to bed and wake up at five."_

_Da rolled her eyes at the "Headmaster" and made funny faces at the back of her head and made Xiao giggle. The headmaster turned around and stared at the girls before narrowing her eyes at Da._

"_Your services will go to Lord Sun Ce, the Lord's oldest son. You make his bed when he wakes, make his bath when he stinks, and make sure that his room is as tidy as his teeth! All of the maids fond over him, but don't stay in there while he's taking a bath. Lady Sun does not approve, and neither does he._

"_Your services," she indicated Xiao with a flick of her hand. "will go to Lord Zhou Yu, also a man with charms. Again, I repeat that you must not stay in there while he bathes. Lady Sun disapproves of that behavior."_

_The headmaster turned and started down the corridor again. "Lord Sun Ce's quarters are located near the kitchen. He's the only one who resides there, being the one who eats a lot. Lord Zhou Yu is on the West wing, near Lord Sun Ce's but down a different tower. They meet up a lot, so don't be surprised if you two run into each other." the headmaster looked over her shoulder slightly, then stopped to ask a maid something._

"_I don't see why she needs to turn around to look at us, she obviously has eyes on the back of her horns!" Xiao whispered to her sister._

_Da smiled and nudged her sister before the headmaster came back to them with two maids following her. "This is Mei Mei and Ty Lee. Mei Mei works for Lord Sun Ce and Ty Lee works for Lord Zhou Yu. They meet up a lot, and right now, the lords are in the training arena. The girls went to get towels for them, so I will escort you back to the training grounds," she looked at Ty Lee and Mei Mei, "and show you where the grounds are and introduce you to the lords." _

_Da and Xiao nodded and the five of them were off. _

_Ty Lee and Mei Mei joined Da and Xiao._

_Ty Lee spoke to Xiao. "Hello. Like she said, I'm Ty Lee, and this is my sister, Mei Mei." she indicated the both of them and they smiled. _

_Xiao smiled back. "I'm Aurora and this is my sister, Selene." Xiao pointed to Da. _

_Mei Mei gasped. "Like the dawn goddess and the moon goddess? That's so cool!"_

_Da smiled, "Thank you. Is working here OK?"_

_Mei Mei nodded. "Very much so! Mainly because there's never a dull moment. Did you know that just the other night, some assassin tried to kill Lord Ce?"_

_Xiao put a hand over her mouth, mainly to hide her grin and dramatic effect. "Why, that's just awful!"_

_Ty Lee nodded, "And it was a woman, too!"_

_Xiao rolled her eyes. "I bet she was ugly." _

_Da glared at her._

_Mei Mei turned to the headmaster's back and turned back to Da. "Have you seen Lord Tong?"_

_Da looked confused, "Lord Tong?"_

_Ty Lee rolled her eyes as soon as Mei Mei made a gasp of disbelief, "You're going to have to excuse my sister. She has the biggest crush on Ling Tong."_

_Mei Mei glared at her sister. "Not as bad as you on Lord Gan Ning!"_

"_He's all man though." Ty Lee said with wistful eyes. _

_Da didn't get Mei Mei. She had seen Sun Ce, and she didn't think that any other man could hold up to the God. Then again, she hadn't seen the others._

_The headmaster turned around. "This is the training grounds." She indicated a door, or more like an open doorway. "I will introduce you while the lords are on a break." the headmaster went through the doorway, and the girls followed._

"_This is it, sis." Xiao leaned in and whispered to Da._

_Da nodded, and tried to pick out the prince from all of the sparring people. She was so focused on finding him, she hadn't noticed that they had stopped until the headmaster said her fake name. _

"_This, Prince Ce, is Selene, your new maid, and this, Great Strategist, is your new maid, Aurora. Both sisters."_

_Da kept her eyes down and bowed with Xiao. _

_Sun Ce looked up from rubbing his neck and locked onto the woman who would be his new maid. One glance and he knew._

_Zhou Yu looked at his new maid and he had to stifle a gasp. She was gorgeous. Her eyes glowed in a way that a artist would've had a heart attack if he saw them, if he saw her. She was like a goddess and she looked out of place in the maid's outfit that she wore. Her hair had a color shade that he was sure wasn't discovered by artists yet. Her skin was silky and looked soft. When she smiled, her lips looked like rose petals, caressed by her white teeth that sparkled almost as much as her eyes. _

_Although her eyes were staring intently into his, she was keenly aware of everything that was going around her, and the fact that he was staring. He repressed a shiver and looked away. _

_He looked at Sun Ce, and saw the weirdest look on his face. He was staring at his new maid to, and she him, with a fiery intensity that Yu had to look away. _

_Xiao looked at Yu. He was nothing like she pictured him. He was hot! He totally pulled off the whole bookworm thingy. He was like a hot strategist. He was only half dressed, so she saw his abs and was impressed. It wasn't everyday she saw such magnificence as a man. His hair was pulled into a ponytail, and in his hand, he held a wicked spear, much like the prince. He glistened in the sun from his sweat of hard work, and Xiao wanted to take the towel from Ty Lee and wipe him off, just so she could touch him. _

_She smiled and he took her in for a minute before signing and looking away to the prince. Xiao followed suit and looked at Da. _

_Oh, my goodness!_ -Da thought as she looked Ce from his toes to his head.-_ He's only half dressed!_ She wasn't expecting this. His abs were uncovered and she looked at them briefly before the memory came flashing back. One look into his eyes and she knew that he knew. 

Zhou Yu spoke, "Aurora is it?"

Xiao nodded and smiled. 

"What an odd name."

Mei Mei bowed and handed Ce a towel before explaining. "Aurora is the name of the Dawn goddess, while Selene is the name of the Moon goddess, my lord." 

Sun Ce couldn't help it, he smiled. "That fits you, Selene."

As soon as her name left his lips, it made Da blush. He had said it so seductively. "_Selene…"_

Ce turned to Yu who was toweling dry. It was a hot day today. "Let's get training, and welcome to the kingdom." He told them. "I won't make you work hard." He looked at Da in the eyes for a minute before turning away and grabbed Yu.

As soon as they were a safe distance and the girls left Ce spoke. "That's her."

Yu wiped his face, again. "Who?" He said shakily. 

Ce took in his friends expression. "Are you okay?"

"I will be." 

"What's wrong? Tired?"

"No, she just caught me off guard."

Ce looked confused. "That maid?"

Yu nodded. 

"Oh. Manly cravings?"

"No! Just caught off guard." He signed. "What were you saying? Something about your maid?"

"Oh, right. That's her."

"Who?" 

"The assassin." 

Yu looked up sharply to his friend. "The assassin?" He asked in a whisper. Ce nodded. "Do you want to tell Jian?"

"Naw. I'll deal with this."

"Now, Ce." Yu warned. "Don't let cravings come in the way of better judgment."

Ce looked at his friend and smiled. "I know what I'm doing." 

"Ce…"

"I've got it, okay?" Ce smiled.

"Sleep with a spear." 

___

Yu entered his room that night while the maids prepared his bath and bed. 

She wasn't hard to pick out. She was making his bed, and humming some lullaby. He strode to her, ignoring the other maids. 

"Hello." His voice rang out.

She turned to him. "Oh, hi!" She smiled. "Is the bed to your liking, my lord?" She gestured toward the bed. She had that awarness around her again. She was on him, but aware of everthing else. 

He had to smile. She had this nice aura around her to where you had to smile. He glanced at the bed and was impressed by the work she had done. He nodded. "Very impressive, Miss?"- he raised his brows- "Aurora."

She nodded. "I'm not married, yet, and just Aurora."

"My apologies. Are you planned to be soon?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No."

"And what about your sister, Selene?"

"What about her?" She cocked her head.

"Is she married?"

She giggled. "No."

He smiled again. "Where are you from."

"South of here. Towards Wei territory." She lied. It was in Wei territory. 

"And what of your father?"

Xiao had to think quickly. "He-"

"I'm sorry, my lord." the headmaster appeared from out of nowhere. "Is she bothering you?"

Yu smiled at the woman, and Xiao saw the headmaster blush. _Eww! Gross!_

"No, actually, we were having a pleasant conversation."

The headmaster blinked. "Oh…"

"I should be going, my lord, your bath will get cold." Xiao skipped past him and out of the room. The headmaster bowed and followed promptly. 

Yu stared at the door for a second before shaking his head and walking to his bathing chamber. She was different.

___

Sun Ce came in to his room and dropped his spear to the floor of the door. He walked to his bath chamber and saw Selene and another maid preparing his bath. She was pouring the water and the other was folding his towels. 

He came forward and smiled at the folding one. "That's enough, your dismissed." She bowed and left.

As soon as she was out the door, Ce folded his arms as Selene poured another bucket from the rack above the fire. She did it in a way that a poet would have to think hard about writing to catch all of her poise. She was graceful, and yet, she never made a sound. Even the water, which she poured, was quiet. She was bent over the tub to pour, and her maid's outfit stretched down, revealing some of her breast. Ce tried, unsuccessfully, not to look, but stole a glance before turning away. 

"What's your real name?" he asked.

With her muscles protesting the work that she was doing, Da mentally cursed at the fact that Mei Mei had left, and put the bucket down in the corner for the morning maids before answering. "Selene." she bowed.

He rolled his eyes. "Your real one."

She faked confusion. "My lord?"

Her eyes glowed. They didn't during the day, only at night it seemed, hmmm. He started to pace about the room, "Why didn't you kill me that night, Selene? You would've gotten away with it. Did you poison my bath water?" 

"Pardon?" She kept a confused face. 

"Why didn't you kill me that night?"

"What night?" 

"That night!" he said exasperated.

"My lord?"

"You're the assassin!"

"Assassin?"

Ce took in her expression. Was he right? Was she the one? 

"My lord," her voice seemed to sing. "I need to be going. The headmistress will be angry at me." She walked past him and he stared after her. Then her scent hit him. A womanly scent that made him yearn for her. 

"It was you." he whispered.

She turned. "My lord?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. 

She went thru the door and heard him say, "I'll prove it." She walked down the hallway to the maid's quarters that she conviently shared with Xiao.

"Lord Zhou Yu's nice." Xiao smiled as she put a pillow case on her pillow.

Da smiled as she covered her bed in sheets, "Really? I would imagine so. Sparks were flying between you two in the training grounds."

"Us? The air was burning with you and the prince!" 

"Because he knows we are enemies."

"Hmm. Well, I guess that's good for him. He knows his doom's coming." Xiao laid in her bed.

"I guess." Da laid in her's. 

"Ya know," Xiao propped herself on an elbow. "the difference between now, and this morning, is that I wouldn't mind giving Zhou Yu a sponge bath."

Da laughed and blew out the candel that was on the table between the two beds, and settled in.

"G'night, Selene." Xiao called.

"Good night, Aurora." Da smiled.

"_I'll prove it." _his voice rang in her head.

"Not before I kill you first." She whispered…

___

**Hey guys! First off, I want to officially thank everyone so far who's reviewed. You guys are the best! **

**So how's the story? You guys know I crave your opinions! I'll try to get Are You Jealous Yet? Updated as soon as I can! I actually have some of it done, and a whole bunch more to write! I'm trying to keep this one as far out there as I can! I don't want some ordinary story, so I'm doing this, and I like it! **

**Xiao's personality is one that I think is better, it has her playfulness, but also some sense, for crying out loud! And there is going to be more Yu/Xiao, don't worry.**

**Tell me how it's going!**

_**ShadowingPassion9532**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 of My Poisonous Kiss**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Lightening cracked a clear path into the sky. The night was silent, an eerie one. It was unusual for Wu to have this type of weather at this time of year…perhaps this was a bad omen?

His muscles contracted as he scaled the mighty building, one destination is his calculatingly calm eyes. He ran atop the roof, keeping his steps so light he was more silent than the night itself it seemed. The wind swept at his hair as he turned and slid down the roof, catching himself on the railing before falling down to the ground without a thud.

He was cocky. A slight smirk had painted itself on his features as he had done all this, the proof that he thought he had remained undetected through it all.

He stayed close to the wall as he made his way out of the gardens and into the open corridor. Stopping close to the doorway, he flattened himself against the wall and listened for sounds he had come to know as danger in his experience.

As the assassin neither heard nor saw any, he made his way silently to the doorway and slipped in with a movement close to a snake. He kept his movements in a singular style of grace as he moved almost wind like through the halls.

His arrogance was profound and he wore it as he made every step closer to his intended destination. Confident in his movements and his skill.

He went down the flight of stairs, through many corridors, and into a whole other part of the castle, without making a single curtain, rug, or blazer stir.

He walked into the corridors of his intended destination with a wolflike grin on his face.

His prey was near.

He slowly slinked through the hallways until the assassin found the one he needed.

"_Come…"_

The assassin stopped in his tracks. The voice was feminine and challenging, but also very enchanting, and it ran his conscious to no end to want to find the voice that had just beckoned him.

He started down the hallway once again, another smile on his face. He stopped, wondering which door to choose when the one next to him slowly cracked open.

"_Come."_ The sultry voice once again called to him, but this time with a demanding finalization.

The assassin hesitated for a moment, knowing he was walking into a trap, but he was indeed cocky, and trusted in his abilities to get him out of anything the woman threw at him.

He opened up the door and stepped in…

There was a captivating figure standing in front of the only window in the room, the lightening cracking on her back so he could not see her face, but he could see her other features. A detailed outline of a stunning silhouette.

Her eyes glowed unnaturally green.

The lightening caressed her body almost fondly, showing off her curves. Her hip was cocked to one side, her legs spread apart. One hand he could not see, in the other he saw a wicked dagger, small but effective in its throwing properties.

"Do you intend to kill me with that?" he asked with a whisper.

The figure's unseen arm moved from the shadowy body and twirled between her fingers was a long, wicked sword, curved and expertly deadly. Lightening cracked overhead.

"Oh, that." He said.

The figure said nothing but continued to twirl the sword in her fingers.

The assassin slowly started to make his way over to her, baby steps at a time.

The sword suddenly was at his throat, the tip of it barely staying out of his throat with her careful restraint.

"Speak, assassin." She commanded, her voice all the more enchanting when she made a command. "My time is precious."

"Your father wishes to change your assignment, Lady Da." He said. He felt her stiffen but she narrowed her glowing green eyes, the sword in her hand turned slightly, almost nicking him in his throat.

"Explain." She commanded once again.

"Instead of your last assignment you and your sister have a new one. You are to spy on the Sun family and find out their secrets and plans for war if they have one."

"Why?"

"Lord Cao Cao thinks that Wu is becoming a threat to Wei. If you find anything threatening you and the Deceiving Rose are to kill the entire Sun family with Lady Sun as an optional." He said, using Xiao's guild name to refer to her.

Da's eyes stayed narrowed. "Why would my father trust this to a runner? Why not in a letter?"

"He was not sure that a letter could get to you, so he sent me. Wu is highly conscious of what comes in and out of their estate. And having the letter sent here, it will be read before it got to you. We could not take the chance."

Lightening cracked again.

Da dropped the sword from his throat, her glowing eyes no longer narrowed. "Very well, go back to my father and collect your reward. You have done well, runner."

He smiled, "You are welcome, Goddess."

He turned around and nearly ran into Xiao, this was when he notice the door he had entered had been closed for some time.

Xiao smiled as he made his way around her. She joined her sister's side at the window, lightening coming in from time to time.

He stopped at the door and turned to them, they were a beautiful sight to see, standing together as they were. "May the shadow treat you well." He said then vanished out the door.

"Well," Xiao said as she turned to her sister, twin blades in her hands. "that was boring. So what do we do now?"

Da turned and looked out the window. Another lightening strike, only this time followed by a cracking thunder. Da sighed.

There would be no moon out tonight.

* * *

Sun Jian sat on his throne, surrounded by his family and Zhou Yu while they all listened to the report of the incoming storm. Huang Gai stood close to his lord, guarding him faithfully as always. Guards shifted uneasily as the scout reported his findings.

"My lord, the upcoming storm is one of the worst this land has seen in many years." Said a scout. "The rain will come with harsh force, not to mention the winds will be harsh enough to blow a child away. The people must take cover, my lord."

Sun Jian sat silently as he pondered what he wanted done. "Very well. Tell the citizens to keep indoors. If they have nowhere to go tell them to come here to the castle and we will house them. Tell them underground settlings are preferred. Have this done."

Sun Jian turned to Lady Sun, "My wife, I need you to direct the servants in getting the castle's basement quarters ready for the generals and the servants to be housed there. Open up all the servant's quarters for the people that we may have to house here. Make sure that we have enough provisions under there for two weeks worth of meals.

"Ce, Quan, I need you two to go and distribute guards who are going to be stationed with us while we are down there, and make sure the army is housed right. Only keep the soldiers without families here. Let the others join their families.

"Zhou Yu, I need you and Lu Xun to help the scouts in directing the people in their houses and bringing them here if their houses aren't safe enough or they have no places to go. Close all three of the gates tightly when you are done.

"Sun Shang Xiang, I need you to alert the generals that they are to come here immediately, no matter what job I have them on already. I also need you to go to the coast and tell Gan Ning to tie his ships down as much as he can but not to dally on them, we can replace them if they are damaged. Make sure his crew is safely housed.

"Everyone has five hours to do this. At that time I do expect the storm to start acting up. Everyone is to be here by that time, no later or I will have my guard come and get you. Now go everyone."

Every one filed out of the throne room with the exception of Huang Gai, who never shifted or blinked during the whole ordeal.

Sun Jian stood up and walked quietly over to a window, "Aye, Huang Gai, there is a storm coming. And it looks beastly."

Huang Gai laughed, "At least this time we are on land and not on sea."

Jian laughed, "Yes that is helpful." He turned to his bodyguard, "Do you need to pack?"

"I can pack quicker than your family can, my lord. I'll be ready when the time comes."

"Good, I just hope this isn't a bad omen." He said grimly as he looked out at the gray mass approaching his castle.

* * *

A dark figure stood at the doorway, and laughter sounded.

_"At lease this time we are on land and not on sea."_

More laughter...

_"Yes that is helpful. Do you need to pack?"_

_"I can pack quicker than your family can, my lord. I'll be ready when the time comes."_

_"Good, I just hope this isn't a bad omen."_

_Bad omen indeed..._ thought the figure as he walked silently down the hallway, a sword in his hand. This night was going to be interesting indeed...

* * *

Da packed another trunk hurriedly and handed it off to a manservant who carried it outside the door to a cart to be delivered to the basement chambers and started on a new one to put Lord Sun Ce's clothing in.

"Oh, my!" Mei Mei said as she came and started to help. "A storm big enough to make the entire castle evacuate into the basement! Why, this hasn't happened in years!" she said nervously.

"That's enough, ladies! Let's go." The headmistress said as she went down the halls around all the maids.

Da shut the chest and handed it to the manservant then went out into the hallway herself. She was nervous. Storms weren't really a big strong point of hers and she didn't like the noise of the thunder.

"Hiya, sis!" Xiao said as she bounced up beside Da. "Lovely weather we are having, huh?" she said and then giggled.

Da looked at the glowing eyes of her sister. "Oh yes, very nice. Perhaps you would like to sleep outside to enjoy it tonight rather than in the basement?"

"I'll pass." Xiao said with a smile. "But isn't this exciting? It's almost like a sleepover!" she said as she clapped her hands together.

Da smiled.

"Maybe we could play a prank on the headmistress! Like we could put snakes in her bed while she slept! Or move her bed to the roof of the castle! Or stick needles in her pillow and all over her bed! Oh, what do you think, sis?" Xiao asked Da.

There was no response. Xiao looked at her sister and waved a hand in front of her face.

"Earth to sis." She toned out.

"Who is that woman?" Da asked Xiao with a weird expression.

Xiao followed her gaze and saw a hauntingly beautiful woman standing beside the headmistress. Her hair was jet black with parts put up and others hanging down all the way to her waist. She wore a deep crimson with gold trimmings and tiger fur stitched in here and there. Her eyes were a deep green and seemed to miss nothing as the woman watched the proceedings with a trained eye.

"I don't know." Xiao said as she put a finger on her mouth. "She looks familiar."

"She has Sun Ce's eyes." Da said, not talking to anyone in particular.

"Actually, Sun Ce has her eyes." Ty Lee said as she came up with Mei Mei.

"That's Lady Sun, Lord Sun Ce's, and Lord Quan's mother and Lord Sun Jian's wife. Isn't she beautiful?" Mei Mei asked.

"Hmm, yes." Da said as she studied her. Sun Ce did seem to favor his mother a lot.

"Is she mean?" Xiao asked.

Ty Lee giggled. "She does look like she would be, right? But no she's not. She's quite nice but expects her orders carried out."

Mei Mei looked at her companions, "Does anyone know who the stay maids are supposed to be?"

"Stay maids?" Da asked, finally drawing her attention from Ce's mother.

"Maids that stay with the lords during the night." Ty Lee explained. "Since the maid's quarters are on another section of the basement, and the gate that separates them is closed at night, one maid from each lord stays with the lord during the night. It's usually the primary maid but Lord Zhou Yu nor Lord Sun Ce have chosen a primary maid so one of us will have to stay, but no, they haven't announced who yet."

"Do the maids get their own beds?" Xiao asked

"Well, yes of course." Mei Mei said with a giggle.

"Oh, I hope it's not me." Da said.

The maids continued to chatter but Da didn't notice because at that moment Lady Sun looked directly at her. The lady's gaze wasn't one of hate but it wasn't one of approval either. The woman looked Da up from toe to head, looked back into Da's eyes for a split second before looking away.

Da was thankful she looked away, but couldn't shake the feeling she would encounter the lady again later on during her mission.

"Ladies!" the headmistress yelled, "Help the men unload these carts!"

* * *

Sun Ce and Sun Quan rode in silence toward the village where Zhou Yu and Lu Xun were preparing the people for the storm. They had finished their duties earlier and were on their way to help direct the people on what to do.

Sun Ce stared out at the horizon, lost in thought about his new maid. She confused him, that was for sure. But just as she confused him about her motives, she intrigued him also. Sometimes at night her eyes would glow like green fire, and sometimes when she looked at him he thought she was looking straight into his soul.

As if reading his thoughts, Quan spoke.

"How have you been sleeping, brother?" he asked with a smile.

"Good, I guess. Why do you ask?" Ce turned to Quan with his eyebrows furrowed.

"With the recent attack on your life I wondered how you slept." Quan said with a shrug.

Ce laughed. "Oh! Well surely you, brother, understand that one attempt on my life will not faze me."

Quan smiled and nodded. "Yes, this I know. I thought maybe the questions mother and father pile on you may, though. They seem persistent for answers."

Sun Ce looked at the ground, "I told them everything that happened that night. From me waking up, her being there, and everything that happened after that."

_Her green eyes... His hand reaching out and her leaning towards it…_

"You know what I don't get though?" Quan asked as he carefully looked at his brother.

"What's that?" Ce asked as he kept looking towards the horizon.

"The fact you can't remember any details." Quan said and noticed Ce didn't look at him and kept silent. "I mean, when we were hunting, you could tell where a deer went without looking at the ground for long and you could tell how many there were. And I know getting hit in the groin area isn't the best feeling but you can still see where she went off to and in what direction.

"And how could you wrestle with her in the woods and not see her face with a full moon out?"

Ce turned to him, expressionless. "What's your point, Quan?"

"My point is that you have never flunked something that bad to where you had no lead to go on. You have always found something." Quan said, meeting his stare evenly.

Ce turned back toward the horizon, and the gray mass floating there. "Even the best fall, brother."

"Yes, and even the best lie to protect." Quan said.

Ce turned to ask him what he meant by that, but was interrupted.

"My lord."

Sun Ce turned to see Zhou Yu ride up to him and bowed.

"Are you finished with the guard?" Yu asked as he joined beside Ce.

"Yeah, it wasn't that hard." Ce said with a shrug. "What about the people? Are they set?"

"Everything is in order but the gates, which I have left up to Lu Xun. He can handle that. I was coming back to the castle to report to your father."

"Sounds good. We better get up there anyway 'cause I know the old man is impatient."

They all rode in a comfortable silence until they neared the castle and passed the harem, which was being packed up and moved to the castle so the women would be safe. Outside the harem, the concubines looked at the lords and called out to them with their eyes.

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu passed them without noticing them but Quan turned his horse toward them.

Ce rolled his eyes. "You don't have much time."

Quan waved him off. "I'll be there soon."

"Don't take too much time." Ce said.

"Yeah, sure." Quan said, not really listening as he went towards a woman.

Ce and Yu rode on ahead and Zhou Yu, feeling the tension vibrating off from Ce, turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"You seem pensive, Ce. Is something troubling you?" he asked carefully, knowing full well that if Ce didn't want to talk, Ce wasn't going to talk.

Ce turned from the horizon with a sigh. "I think Quan knows that I know more than I'm letting on."

Yu's brows came together, "How so?"

"He let a hint slip before you joined us. He said some people lie to protect."

Yu nodded. "Hmm. Indeed. Your brother is no idiot, Ce."

Ce smiled ruefully, "Yeah, I got that."

"So what do you intend to do?"

Ce looked at him with his eyebrows raised. "Shouldn't you be tellin' me that?"

Yu shrugged, "You won't listen to me. You will do what you want. So I'll save my breath if you don't mind."

"Well, Quan can just be kept in the dark about all of this. And as for Selene… I'm gonna make her the maid that stay with me through the night."

Yu whirled to Ce. "Have you taken leave of you senses?!? She would have closer quarters to yours and not to mention have access to anything of yours to poison!"

Ce met his eyes, "But if she makes a move during the night I'll know it."

Zhou Yu just stared at him but eventually sighed, shoulders dropping. "Just do me a favor, Ce."

Ce smiled, pleased that he got his way. "What?"

"Kill me before your mother finds out about me knowing and not doing anything about this." He begged.

Ce threw his head back and laughed while lightening cracked overhead.

* * *

"He did what?" Da whirled to meet the headmistress's gaze. "No, there must be some mistake."

The woman shook her head. "Lord Sun Ce came to me directly and voiced that he wanted you as his stay maid. No mistake could've been made.

"Oddly enough, Lord Yu has chosen your sister, Aurora, for his maid. You two certainly have made an impression."

Xiao, shocked just as much as Da, spoke up, "_I'm_ his stay maid?"

The headmistress rolled her eyes, "Yes, you both were chosen for stay maids. Your quarters are connected to the lord's main chambers. You saw them when you cleaned them out. Now, if there aren't anymore questions, please leave."

Xiao and Da left the mistress's temporary office and started to walk towards their rooms to gather their things.

"I don't get it. I thought they were suspicious and onto us." Xiao said.

"They are doing it to keep an eye on us, Xiao." Da said, now a little angry at a certain prince.

"Aw darn. I thought our charm finally won them over." Xiao said with an exaggerated sigh. "Isn't it just or luck that when we get the perfect opportunity to kill the prince, we can't do it?"

Da giggled, "Yes, I guess that is our luck."

"So why haven't you put the poison in his bath water yet? I figured you would've done that a long time ago." Xiao said as and Da turned a corner.

"Because the poison has to be ingested somehow, little sister. Otherwise it will just give him a rash." Da informed her.

Xiao laughed, "And you being his stay maid will have to rub cream all over him and see him with his clothes off " Xiao suddenly stopped talking and walking, making Da stop and listen, thinking someone was in earshot.

"What?" Da asked.

"Umm," Xiao said as she pulled her hands behind her back and started scraping her toe on the floor. "Can I borrow some of that poison?"

Da's eyebrow came together in confusion, "Why?"

"Cause I, uh, wanna put some… in Zhou Yu's bathwater?" Xiao said and finally made eye contact with Da.

Da just stared at her.

"What?!" Xiao asked defensively.

"You're not even his head maid!"

'So? I'll just kill all the other maids till I'm all he's got!"

Da's jaw fell, "Xiao!"

Xiao rolled her eyes and put one hand n the air. "It was just a suggestion! Jeez! Calm down."

Da shook her head and was going to start walking again when she noticed Xiao's eyes begin to significantly dull, and a familiar awareness come over her. Xiao blinked and the glow in her eyes stopped.

Xiao smiled, looking into her sister's now glowing eyes. "It's nighttime."

Her remark was followed by a loud crash of thunder, making both girls jump and stare at the roof above their heads.

"And the storm has started." Da said and sighed. "I suppose we need to get to Lord Sun Ce and Zhou Yu before dinner."

They continued walking up the corridor, returning to their lord's chambers.

"So can I have some?" Xiao asked hopefully.

"No!"

* * *

The basement was officially on lockdown. The gate that led up to the castle was sealed shut tightly with barriers to make sure it stayed closed. The gate that separated the lords from the servants was sealed shut also: everything in preparation for the worst of the storm.

Xiao walked up to Zhou Yu's chambers with one of his trunks that got misplaced during the packing process. Suddenly, she got the prickling feeling that someone was following her. She turned around and saw nothing but the feeling was still there, and she was taught that her instincts were to be her guide.

She walked down the remaining corridor without a glance back until she turned a corner and snuck a peek... and saw nothing. She sighed and continued her way to Yu's chambers, trying to rationalize with herself.

She walked up to his double doors which were guarded by two guards and smiled as they noticed her.

"Hi, I'm Aurora. I'm Lord Zhou Yu's stay maid. Can you-"

One of the guards stepped forward. "Let me carry that in for you, miss." And took the trunk off of her.

"Thanks." She smiled, surprised.

The other opened the door, "Here, let me hold the door open for you."

Xiao just smiled and let the man with the trunk go in first, then proceeded to follow but, being her usual Xiao self, tripped. The guard who was holding the door out for her, caught her and pulled her to him in order to help her get her balance back.

Zhou Yu walked around the corner, his mind on various affairs, when he looked up and saw his stay maid in the arms of one of his guard, and stopped dead in his tracks, fury beyond compare flaring up through his body.

Aurora giggled at something the guard said as she stood up and Zhou Yu knew his face was going red as he felt his temperature rise. _He_ should be the one making her laugh like that! Aurora tried to move away from the guard's grasp but the guard held on and Zhou Yu started seeing red.

"Excuse. Me." He said with careful restraint.

The guard immediately let go of Aurora, and she looked at Yu and smiled.

"M-my lord!" the guard stammered. "I-I was just helping her."

Xiao looked at the guard, confused at his nervousness. She turned and looked at Zhou Yu closer and noticed his face was an unusual shade of red and he looked extremely annoyed at something.

Thunder rumbled overhead.

"There you go miss!" the guard came out of the room wiping his hands like he had done some big deed. "The trunk is in there. If there is _anything_ I can do for you, please let me know."

The guard didn't get a reaction out of Xiao and looked to see what it was she was studying so hard and turned to see Lord Yu with a look of murder in his eyes directed towards him.

The guard swallowed loudly and bowed. "My l-lord."

Zhou Yu walked passed all of them and into his room. "Come, Aurora."

Xiao followed, still confused about what just happened. She followed him through the many rooms until he went into one. She went in after him and her jaw dropped at the amount of books on the walls. They totally surrounded the whole room. Even as a temporary living arrangement, Xiao had no doubt that he came down here often.

_Thwack!_

Xiao nearly jumped as Zhou Yu put his papers and books on his desk. Well, threw them down really. He reached behind him and noisily slid the chair into place and sat in it with apparent aggression not usually used to sit in a chair.

Xiao just watched him with fascination while he did this, and wondered whether she should leave the room.

"My lord," she said. Zhou Yu didn't even look at her. "Do you wish me to leave?"

"No." he said curtly.

Xiao raised an eyebrow. It was rare for someone to use an angry tone with her, and she wasn't sure she liked it. She walked over to the fireplace and gazed into the fire, drawn to the bewitching glow of it and how embers seemed to be shot from it like rebellious sparks trying to make it on their own only to burn out.

She was so engrossed in watching the unique flicker of the flame that she didn't notice that her master stopped his aggravated paper shuffling and began to stare at her.

Zhou Yu unconsciously put the paper he was holding close to the candle down and started to study her. In the firelight, she looked absolutely enchanting. The aura around her was incredible as her whole being seemed to glow. Her eyes looked like fine crystals with hints of mischief and sparks of intelligence behind them. Her whole body looked small and fragile, but as he looked closer, he noticed that she was finely toned. Her hands, small and delicate as they were, looked like dormant volcanoes, ready to jump and explode at a moments notice.

The thunder continued its loud rumbles.

Xiao felt a tingling sensation and knew her master was staring at her. She turned and looked at him and saw his eyes were still holding traces of anger in them, but totally directed toward her. He put the paper he had aside and sat back in his chair.

Xiao looked at him for a minute before looking away. She couldn't meet his gaze the way he was staring at her. She heard him thump his fingers twice before bouncing up out of the chair, walked swiftly out of the room, then out the chamber doors.

Shocked at his swift departure, Xiao slowly began to pace the room, wondering what she had done wrong. By the time she was about to pace the room a second time, he came back in. He immediately started arranging the papers on his desk.

Xiao finally asked him, "My lord, are you angry with me?"

Yu sighed, "No, Aurora. I am not angry with you, but I am angry at my guard."

"Why?" Xiao asked without thinking.

Zhou Yu stopped arranging papers. "I saw one holding you in his arms." He looked at her, meeting her gaze with a penetrating stare. "I didn't like it."

Xiao's eyes widened in shock. "Oh…I'm sorry." She said on instinct.

Zhou Yu drew in a breath. "No matter. We are to attend dinner now, so come." He said and walked out of the room.

Xiao followed in his wake, but as they exited out of the room, she noticed the guards wouldn't even look at her. She thought this as odd, but was more shocked when Zhou Yu turned and offered his arm to her.

Aurora smiled and Zhou Yu felt captivated by how beautiful it was, and she took his arm. He cast a look at his guard, feeling smug.

Xiao walked with Yu wondering the whole way what had the guard acting as weird as they did.

* * *

Sun Ce entered his room and went straight to the bedroom, intent on changing before dinner. He looked for a sign to see if Selene was present but found none, but then again, did assassins ever leave signs?

He reached his bedroom and still didn't see her, and then wondered if the headmistress even told her. He pulled his shirt over his head to take it off.

Da entered the bedroom where she had heard Sun Ce stop and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw his upper torso naked once again. Her breathing quickening, she looked at it from beginning to end, admiring the build and cut of it. She had a thought of going over there and running her hands and nails over it but blushed and swallowed and looked away, eyes closed.

Ce pulled the shirt fully off and saw Selene standing in the doorway, her eyes closed and head turned.

"Oh, good! I was beginning to wonder if the headmistress told you or not." He said, totally misinterpreting her blush.

Da turned to him but didn't look at him, but instead focused on the floor. "Yes, my lord, she told me."

"I must be an idiot, huh? Making you, the person I suspect wants to kill me, one of my closest maids." He asked her.

Da remained silent.

He looked at her, "We both know it was you that night, Selene. I got a good enough look at you."

"I don't know what you are talking about, my lord." She said quietly.

"Oh, don't give me that." Ce said as he turned to her, "We both know it was you because we both felt a connection that night."

"My lord, I wasn't the assassin that tried to take your life!" Da said, her temper starting to show.

"Bullshit." He said as he slammed a trunk.

Da tried to suppress her anger. "If you trust me so little, then why make me your stay maid?"

Ce looked at her. She was pissed off there was no doubt about that. But what really captured him was the unnatural fire in her eyes. She was angry, adrenaline driven, and totally dangerous.

Just what he liked.

He went to her and stopped just a foot away from her. "Easy." He said casually, then took a step to close the gap between them. "Friends close, enemies closer."

Da's eyes exploded with anger. "Fine then, _my lord_," she spat, "I will personally get you a little maid you _can_ trust!"

She whirled and ran out of the room.

"Selene!" Ce shouted, surprised.

Da ran through the many chambers, not thinking straight enough to know which way was the damn door so she took off in the most logical way. She heard Sun Ce running and she started to gain up her speed. Suddenly he popped out of a room ahead of her and started running at her.

Experienced in running from guards, men, women, and all sorts of animals, Da easily dove under his arm and spun out of his reach when he reached back for her, and continued running.

"_Selene_!" he roared out after her.

Da turned a corner, his shout only making her run faster. She saw the double doors and instantly ran out of them and out into the hall. She turned another corner. Lord Sun Ce was faster than her but if she kept turning corners she could probably outrun him that way.

_Gate. Gate._ She thought as she ran, trying to find the huge gate that separated the servants from the lords. She had no idea what she intended to do once she got there but that was her destination.

She turned a corner and continued to run but saw two lords who, at her fast approach, stared at her.

"What the-" one of them said as she ran by.

She still heard Ce running behind her.

"Ce!"

"Brother!"

They yelled at her master but Da turned a corner and then another and could barely hear Ce's steps. Soon, she could only hear her own as she slowed but still jogged down the corridors.

She found herself going down a darkened hallway. There were no blazers down the hall and no windows so she stepped into it, the shadowy darkness a long missed comfort of hers. As soon as she felt encompassed by it she stopped in the middle and thought about all the hallways she passed while she ran, trying to think of another way to go, and if she should go back and kill the prince now or wait or find Xiao…

The feeling that she was being watched swept over her like an icy chill, stopping her thoughts instantly. She felt eyes stabbing into her from behind her, and started to turn to look while she quickly tried to flatten herself against the wall but wasn't quick enough.

Jumping out like a tiger, Lord Sun Ce grabbed her at her hips and pushed her against the wall. She began to fight him, but he grabbed her hands and held them over her head onto the wall behind her and crushed her against the wall with his weight.

"I am not going to have this fight with you again, Selene." Ce said as he looked into her glowing eyes, but her scent hit him and he immediately tensed up, finally realizing their position together.

Da felt him tense above her and she looked up to see him with his eyes closed and his jaw set. Then, he released one of her hands and moved his hand to her waist and slowly leaned down toward her.

For a breathtaking minute, Da thought he was going to kiss her but instead he leaned down, eyes still closed and inhaled close to her neck.

There was something erotic about one's scent being inhaled, Da thought as she closed then opened her eyes. She slowly looked at Ce and his impressive physique as he leaned in toward her, every muscle within touching distance for her liking, and every muscle was a story of its own.

The man radiated power. There was no doubt about that, and Da felt it in every one of her molecules. His neck pulsed strongly and showed muscles brought on by hard work and intensive training. His arms were strong and looked as if they could hurt her permanently if he so wished. Even his hands, which were gentle at her waist and wrists, were a hidden wonder in themselves.

She dropped her gaze lower and saw his exposed abdomen once again and her breathing quickened. She moved her free hand over to them and finally gave into the urge to run her nails down them.

Ce's eyes shot open at her action. He felt spell cast as she made her way down and her scent filled every inch of his lungs. His thoughts were scattered as she did this. Once where he had control, he had no more as he finally said hell to it all.

She stopped her motion and Ce wrapped his arm around her waist and dropped her wrist in order to put his hand behind her neck, and he crushed her to him as he slowly leaned down.

Da saw him leaning down to kiss her, but instead of fear she felt want and gave in. Her eyes slowly fluttered shut and she parted her mouth slightly, a small sigh escaping her lips while her eyes fully closed as he leaned closer, his lips so close to hers…

_No!_ Da's mind screamed and her eyes shot open.

Years of training, self-discipline, and strategy flooded her head as she realized she was breaking protocol. And not just any protocol, the biggest one of them all: Getting emotionally involved in an assignment.

Her eyes turned hard as her mind raced with amazing speed and analyzed both their stances. Using his weight against him would be his downfall. In under a second she had done all her thinking, and she moved her hand back and grabbed his wrist…

Sun Ce didn't know what had happened. She was in his arms and then she grappled his wrist, and with amazing speed that he had never seen used, she had gone around him and used his weight to send him flying into the wall and onto the floor. He stayed put for a second, trying to comprehend what had just happened. He then stood up and turned to look at her.

She was close to the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, her stance showing she was ready for him to pounce on her. He looked up into her glowing green eyes, more alluring than ever in the darkened hallway, and saw the cold, calculating calm in them and noticed that every mental block she could manage was now up.

She was sexy. She was dangerous. She was enslaving. She was poisonous. She was utterly spellbinding. And she was lethal.

"Ce! What the heck was up with all that…running."

Da turned so see two men standing at the entrance of the hallway. The one who spoke had white spiky hair, and carried himself like an arrogant pirate. The other looked similar to Sun Ce and Sun Jian.

The two men were looking first at Da then back to Ce.

"Um… are we interrupting anything?" the man spoke again.

"No." Ce said and Da turned and saw him staring at her. "We were just talking."

Da couldn't help but wonder how in the world he got that they were talking when they hadn't said a word the last few moments.

"Brother," the other one spoke up for the first time and Da realized why the two looked so similar: they were brothers. "We were just on our way to dinner. Would you like to join us?" he asked cautiously. Quan wasn't a fool. He knew something was going on between the two.

Ce's eyes never left Da's. "If you will walk with me to my quarters to get a shirt, yes."

"Sure, no problem." The pirate said cautiously as he too noticed the tension.

"Goodbye, Selene." Ce said as he turned and walked away from her and joined the two men, all the while never looking back. The two other men though studied her and her unusually glowing green eyes until they began to follow Ce, never saying a word but their eyes said that they had many questions.

Only when they were out of sight and she could hear them no longer, did Da lean back against the wall behind her and let her legs turn jellylike as she slid down the wall.

No. She couldn't do this. It was against protocol to get emotionally involved in an assignment. No matter what her feelings were towards the prince, she had a job to do. One she did very well in the past. Killing was her life. Her passion. It was what she was a master at. Besides, he was just a man. She didn't need him. She had all the riches she could ask for, and even a castle of her own: gift to her by her father when she had successfully completed her first mission. Though it was weird for girls to have castles, her father thought it weird for them not to have one, and Xiao even had one, though it was being renovated to fit all of her animals.

This was just another assignment. One she would complete, report to her father, then take a week off of assignments to pamper herself at her own castle. In their profession, you needed some time off to yourself.

But she still had the rest of the night to go through, and she wondered which one of them would survive it.

And who, exactly, was after whom.

* * *

The door creaked open and the woman awoke. Curious as to what had opened her quarter door, she moved from her safeplace of a bed and went to investigate. Just outside her door, she saw a trail of water leading off in the direction of the kitchen. She followed it till it lead to a closet, and without thinking twice, she went in.

In the middle of the closet was a puddle of water. She slowly approached it and stared at it as if trying to figure out where it had come from, when a droplet fell from the ceiling. She looked up and a black figure decended upon her.

The crash of thunder covered her screams...

_Tell me who you are, I am spellbound_

_You cannot have this control on me_

_Everywhere I go, I am spellbound_

_**I will break this spell you put on me...**_

* * *

**The closing lyrics to this is "Spellbound" by lacuna coil, an awesome song to me, but maybe not to you. My friends always tell me I have the wierdest taste in music. I've had this chapter halfway done for awhile, just never had the inspiration to continue it until something happened today that gave me a writing spurt. As always, reviews are appreciated and of course, criticism. But not flames... unless u absolutely want to. I might learn from your opinion or have an interesting review for my review page lol!**

**_ShadowingPassion9532_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 of My Poisonous Kiss**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Adrenaline surged through his veins, granting him that high he was so used to feeling. His mind was only focused on one thing: to kill. He sucked in a deep breath and tasted all the scents in the air, but there was only one he was focusing on. Hers._

_His grip on his knife hardened as he kept breathing everything in. Filling all his lung capacity with that enchanting scent that was only hers. He felt his animalistic instincts start to kick in as he allowed them to take over his body, pushing the human limitations aside and letting the thrill of the hunt take him over completely._

_His eyes shot open, revealing that they were a different tone than when they had closed earlier. They were wild and fanatic._

_He shot off down the corridor, having only one goal in mind. One he would relish in doing. He turned down one corridor, then another, all the while going undetected. He seemed to blend in with the background. Or maybe he was too fast to be seen._

_He came to a halt at a corner, and slowly stole a peek around it to see her walking away from him. He nearly sighed with contentment._

_"My prey…"_

Thunder rolled up ahead and made a deafening clash as forces in the sky fought. Even the people in the basement weren't fully away from the thunder's deafening powers as they all covered their ears to keep the worse of it out. Vibrations sunk even to the basement, making people wonder if it was safe, underground as it was.

Da walked down the hallway to join everyone for dinner. She was just a few minutes behind Sun Ce and there were still other maids coming so she knew the serving hadn't started yet.

She couldn't believe what she had nearly done, but her reasoning was back and it wouldn't happen again. This she knew for a fact.

Thunder rolled overhead, but it hardly disturbed Da as she walked down the corridor. She walked with the mysterious grace that usually adorned her steps. Though her thoughts were occupied with her earlier screw up, she was very much aware of her surroundings.

And also the fact that she was being followed.

She knew she wasn't just being followed, she was being watched as well.

The eerie feeling sent a chill down her spine, but she kept walking, relying on her instincts to tell her when, or if, the person came near. She slowed down the slightest degree and let her senses branch out to find what they may. She could definitely feel a presence besides the ones of the maids that seemed to hustle about. This one felt… odd.

She couldn't hear the person but she knew they were there. She walked the rest of the corridor and turned the corner…

When someone jumped out.

Da struck out with a punch, but the person dodged it by a last minute turn, coming around to Da's side. Da jumped back and began to lunge again.

Then the person started yelling.

"Da! It's me!" Xiao squealed.

Da stopped and dropped her next attack. "Oh, Xiao! I'm so sorry!" Da pulled her into a hug and whispered tons of apologies. "I'm so sorry, Xiao! I didn't know!"

"Why did you attack me?' Xiao asked, pulling away to look at Da with a puzzled expression.

"I had the strangest feeling I was being watched and-"

"And I jumped out at you." Xiao said with a giggle. "I'm sorry. But why do you think you're being watched, sis?" Xiao said and looked around Da to see if anyone was behind her.

"It's just the storm, little sister." Da said as she pulled a loose hair out of Xiao's face and tucked it behind her ear.

Xiao was about to protest but Da cut her off. "Why aren't you with Lord Zhou Yu?"

"I came to find you! Lord Sun Ce came in with his brother and that pirate but you weren't in sight. I snuck out to find you. The serving's about to start and the last thing I wanted to happen was the headmistress coming to look for you. I didn't know if you were doing something important." Xiao smiled, making Da catch her meaning.

Da smiled. "I haven't done anything like that yet. Come, we need to get there."

As Da pushed Xiao towards the serving hall, she stole a look back down the corridor.

She shook her head when she saw nothing.

* * *

Zhou Yu could tell there was something wrong with Sun Ce. His jaws were constantly being clenched and unclenched, and he wasn't really participating in any kind of talk, which was unlike him. Sun Ce loved to banter back and forth with any willing participant.

Zhou Yu also knew there was something wrong because Sun Quan and Gan Ning were constantly throwing glances at Sun Ce's direction. Zhou Yu could only imagine what kind of calamity that Ning and Quan witnessed.

Especially if there was a certain maid involved.

Zhou Yu waited till after the meal was served before he leaned forward to get to the bottom of his friend's sour mood.

"Is everything ok, Ce?" Yu asked, wondering if he had asked the wrong question.

"Fine." Ce said as he focused on his food more than normally.

Wrong question. He had to try a different route.

"Did something happen?" He asked, still trying to be casual.

"What makes you say that?" Ce asked.

Zhou Yu knew he his the mark. Ce was being evasive.

"Just the fact that your brother and Gan Ning are staring at you."

"I had another 'collision', as you put it, in the hallway with Selene. They appeared at the end of it." Ce finally confessed.

Yu raised his eyebrows. "By collision you mean…"

Ce was still focusing on the food in front of him. "She ran, I followed, we tussled in the hallway."

Yu looked at Quan and Ning who weren't looking at the moment. "And what exactly did they see?"

"Nothing really. I just wish they would stop staring. Mom and Pop are already uptight about things. If they notice them staring, they will know there's something up."

"Your father was talking to me about doubling your personal guard." Sun Ce looked at Yu with a look of horror on his face. Zhou Yu smiled. "Don't worry. I told him you were perfectly capable of handling yourself." Yu said with a smile.

Ce finally smiled for the first time. "Thanks."

"Did she accompany you on your walk over here?" Yu asked as he started eating.

"Nah. I left her in the hallway. We, kinda needed the distance, ya know?" Ce said with another cryptic smile.

"Hmm. I will try to empathize."

"So how's everything going with your maid? Aurora? That's her name right? We've been talking about mine we haven't talked about yours." Ce said as ate another bite.

"Everything's going fine." Zhou Yu said as he focused on his food.

Ce immediately looked up from his food and slurped a noodle into his mouth. He sat back and crossed his arms while he stared at his friend. He swallowed his food before grunting.

Yu looked up at the sound. "What?" he asked.

"She's gotten to you too, huh?"

Zhou Yu looked shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"You know very well what I'm talking about, buddy. I'm a tortured soul myself. I think I can witness it in others." Ce said with a sly grin on his face.

"What are you talking about? Me? Are you insinuating that I have the same cravings for Aurora as you do her sister?"

Ce just grinned as he chewed on the end of a chopstick.

"Sun Ce that is utterly preposterous! I cannot say that the girl isn't blessed but by all means I am not attracted to her on that level." Yu said in a hushed outrage.

"But you are attracted to her." Ce said, his grin getting bigger as he knew he had his friend.

"Bah!" Yu cried out, knowing he was cornered.

Ce leaned over and slapped his sworn brother on his shoulder, "Don't worry, buddy. It happens to all of us."

Ce laughed as Yu shot him a glare.

* * *

"What do you think they're talking about?" Xiao asked as Da set an empty pitcher on the counter to get refilled.

"Who?" Da asked with a sigh, pulling hair out from in front of her face.

"Zhou Yu and Sun Ce. They seem very into their conversation. I think they are talking about you." Xiao observed as she was leaning up against the wall. She was concentrating on the lip movements of Ce due to the fact Yu's back was to her.

"If you keep staring they will be onto us." Da said with a hard look. "And if you are so interested in what they are saying, why don't you go ask?" Da said sarcastically.

Xiao bounced. "That's a great idea, sis!" she picked up a pitcher and quickly made her way over.

"Aurora! I didn't mean- oh, dear!" Da said as she quickly grabbed a pitcher and took off for the table before Xiao actually did ask. Ce was already onto her enough as is, she didn't need Xiao going and asking, especially if it was about her. If Xiao asked… she didn't want to think about the calamity that would ensue.

Xiao, to her credit, started at the end of the table, which made Da pleased because if she walked straight up to them, it would be obvious. She was also pleased that she started at the long end of the table. If she herself started at the smaller end, she would get to Ce and Yu before Xiao did.

Unfortunately, someone brought the conversation of her up before Xiao could.

"So, Ce," the pirate who had come at the end of her and Ce's tangle started, "how have you been sleeping since the attempt on your life?"

Da nearly chocked but tried to keep a poker face as she started refilling glasses. She prayed to every god that Ce didn't expose her.

Ce didn't look at Da, knowing that that was probably what they were baiting him to do. Also, he think he had done enough staring at her tonight anyway.

He grinned a grin that seemed confident. "Like a baby." He said, causing some of the other generals present to chuckle.

Da looked up to compare her position to Xiao's and realized Xiao was gaining ground, fast.

"How do you feel about the fact that it was a woman?" someone else asked.

Da was carefully leaning over people to refill and keeping watch on Xiao's position.

Ce shrugged. "I still think it was Shang Xiang trying to kill me." He said as he looked at his sister.

"Trust me, brother, if I wanted to kill you, I would have succeeded. Not tried." came the Princess's smart retort.

Da was happy that she was now refilling the person beside Ce but she panicked when she saw Xiao smile at Yu and pick up his glass.

"I don't understand why you didn't just seduce her, my lord." some other general that Da didn't know said. Da moved and leaned over Ce to get his glass, trying to ignore the closeness of the situation.

And that last remark.

Every one of Sun Ce's nerves were on edge as she leaned over him to get his cup, but he casually leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, a trademark grin on his face. "Unfortunately, Huang Gai, I think this was a woman who would rather kill me than kiss me."

The hall erupted into laughter at Sun Ce's last remark.

Xiao Qiao leaned down and placed Zhou Yu's cup in front of him, marveling at his laugh. It was a deep laugh, one that seemed to vibrate through the air and settle in her chest.

He looked at her with a smile, and she smiled back. She opened her mouth, about to ask him if he needed anything else, when the doors to the hall were burst open.

"My lord! A maid, in the other section! She has been murdered!" The guard shouted as he fell to the floor, obviously out of breath.

Xiao Qiao put a hand to her mouth to keep the gasp from escaping. She quickly looked at Da, who was also looking at her, in a questioning manner.

They both shook their heads in the slightest degree, saying they didn't do it.

Xiao's blood went cold. If they didn't do it, then who did?

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu both looked at each other at the same time. One look and they knew they were both thinking the same thing.

There was a hush among the hall as Sun Jian stood up. He didn't think he heard him right, and wanted to walk up to the guard and ask him if this wasn't some kind of joke. But the look in the guards eyes already confirmed his worse fear.

"Everyone evacuate but the generals." Sun Jian's voice was calm, but it rang out loud in the now silent hall.

All the maids in the hall set the things they had in their hands at that moment in random places. Some even on the floor due to no nearby surface to put it on.

Xiao Qiao walked out with the rest of the maids, Da silently walking by her side. She felt someone's eyes on her, and she turned around to see Sun Ce and Zhou Yu looking at her and her sister. Xiao wasn't overly concerned about the way Sun Ce was looking at Da Qiao, but was confused by the way Zhou Yu was staring at her.

He seemed like a man in conflict with his emotions, like he didn't want to believe but had no choice in not to.

It was turning out to be a very weird night…

* * *

"The roommate to the maid had woken up and noticed her gone. She had gotten up to look for her, and had found her in a nearby closet. The screams are what alerted the guard." The Guard said as he filled them all in on the situation.

"Do they know when this happened?" Sun Jian asked.

"The wounds are fresh. It couldn't have been too long ago, my lord." the Guard informed them.

Sun Ce looked at Zhou Yu with an eyebrow raised. He did leave Selene alone for a little while…

"Have they identified who's maid it was?" Zhou Yu asked as an idea suddenly came to him.

"Yes, they have, my lord. It was a maid under Lady Sun Shang Xiang's services."

Shang gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Sun Ce moved over to her and engulfed her in a brotherly embrace. He couldn't stop the fury from coming up. It was one thing to threaten _his_ life or wellbeing. But to go and threaten his family? Especially Shang Xiang? That was overdoing it.

He would deal with Selene tonight.

"How could someone get by the gates?" Zhou Yu asked. "Aren't they locked? Guarded?"

"I did not see about the gates, my lord. I came to inform our lord as soon as I could." the guard said with a bow.

"Where have you put her?" Shang asked, her eyes closed.

"She has been placed in a room, my lady. They thought you may have wanted to see her…" The guard didn't finish. He felt bad for the princess.

"And the room it happened in?" Sun Jian asked, careful of his choice of words around his daughter.

"They have tried to keep it the way it was, your majesty. Just in case you had wanted to look at it. But with the guards coming in and out, it's a mess."

Sun Jian nodded. "Sun Ce, you, Zhou Yu, and I will go see about the room. Quan, you and Lu Xun go see about the gates." he looked at Shang Xiang before placing a hand on her head. "My daughter, you may go visit her if you like, but do not disturb her. We will need to look at her wounds to see if we can get any answers from her.

"Huang Gai, I need you and the other generals to assemble a unit each and patrol the halls. I want it reported to me or my sons immediately if something is suspicious. Also, make sure my wife is secured."

"I will go with our daughter, my love." Lady Sun said as she came and replaced Ce's place at comforting Shang Xiang.

Sun Jian nodded. "Very well. Take Zhou Tai with you, seeing as Quan is with Lu Xun."

"My lord," the guard said with a bow. "There is one more thing."

Sun Jian raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"The maid that found the body, she is in shock. But she told the guard that first came in that she saw a black figure running from the room. She couldn't tell much. Only that it was a man."

"A man clothed in black?" Sun Jian asked.

"Yes, my lord."

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu looked at each other, both with a puzzled expression.

* * *

The maids were walking down the hallway, tons of whispering was going on about the newest shock.

Xiao and Da walked side by side, Xiao whispering excitedly. "If you didn't do it, and I didn't do it, do you know what this means?"

Silence.

"It means that there's another assassin!" Xiao said with her hands in the air.

"Xiao, some people kill other people out of spite. This means that when someone is murdered, it's not because an assassin is behind it every time." Da said in a scolding tone.

Xiao started to protest but someone interrupted her by screaming.

"WE'RE NEXT!"

Everyone turned around to see a maid coming from the dining hall area obviously hysterical.

"A black figure is what they said! A man! We were deceived! It was no woman who came after Lord Sun Ce that night! But a man! He killed a guard and tried to kill Lord Sun Ce! But he failed in that so now he's out to kill us!"

There were shocked gasps and frantic whispers heard from the crowd of maids.

"We are next! We will be killed just like-"

A ringing slap echoed through the corridor as the maid who was hysterically speaking was slapped by the headmistress. The mistress then picked her up and threw her to the crowd of maids who caught her.

"Return to your rooms! All of you! If any more wild rants like this happen, you will all be severely punished!" Her voice echoed through the hall. "Scatter!"

The maids began to walk again, all hushed and not saying anything.

Xiao, however, leaned over to Da and said, "I wonder how they would act if they knew Lord Sun Ce's intended killer was right here? Let alone two fully trained assassins?"

Da shot her a glare that silenced Xiao.

"Xiao, if it is another assassin, then please be careful. And if you ever get in a situation you can't handle, send out the signal. I don't care who hears."

Da looked at her.

"I'm serious, Xiao Qiao. Please, be safe."

* * *

"There are only two gates that lead to the maid's section, and neither were opened since lock down." Ce said with a sigh as he and Zhou Yu walked back to the room after talking with Sun Quan and Lu Xun.

"Do you know what that means, Ce?" Zhou Yu prompted as they turned another corner.

"Yeah. The killer was already in there before lock down." Ce said grimly.

"Precisely. That means there is no way Aurora or Selene could have done it. Aurora was in my room and you were having a collision with Selene." Yu said with a hint of a smile.

Ce ignored the joke Yu was making. "I got that. Wanna know what I don't get?"

"What's that?" Yu asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Why a maid? And why Shang Xiang's maid?" Ce shook his head.

There was silence in their walking as they both pondered these questions.

"Perhaps he wasn't really targeting any particular maid. Maybe he needed a distraction." Yu said, his thoughts running.

"Distraction? Distraction for what? To get through the gates?" Ce asked, not getting Zhou Yu's point.

"Exactly!" Zhou Yu stopped when an idea hit him.

"What?" Ce asked, studying Zhou Yu's expression.

"Think, Ce! Why would he go to the maid's section during lock down? Knowing the doors would be shut?" Zhou Yu prompted once more.

"Because he thought the person he was after was going to be over there." Ce said, finally getting it.

"Exactly. But when he realized that they weren't he knew he needed to get to the other side."

"The distraction." Ce finished.

"Precisely." Yu said grimly.

"That means that it's a stay maid." Ce concluded.

"But a stay maid to a person who doesn't have a primary maid. Otherwise, the person would know they would be on this side."

"Who all doesn't have a primary maid?"

"Only a handful that I know of. I really don't keep up." Zhou Yu admitted.

"And us." Ce said with his eyebrows raised.

Zhou Yu and he stared at each other for a moment before Zhou Yu shook his head. "You don't think…"

"No." Sun Ce agreed. "I mean, why would an assassin come after another?"

"Perhaps because she failed in her duties?" Zhou Yu suggested with an eyebrow raised.

"Failed her duties? You mean her not killing me that night?" Ce asked.

"I don't know about their punishments, Ce. But it can't be good. They make their living off of succeeding."

"Do you think that's why she brought Aurora with her? Because she knew she would be traced here?" Ce asked, and idea forming.

"I can't really say. But I have to say I am confused. Why didn't she kill you that night, Ce? She would've gotten away with it. Could this connection, as you put it, be the reason she did not?" Zhou Yu asked as he studied his friend's face.

"I don't know. But I don't like the thought of her having to pay for not taking my life." Ce said, his voice hard.

"Agreed. But, perhaps, if we are correct, we should not leave them alone for a long period of time." Yu said with an eyebrow raised.

Ce nodded, getting Zhou Yu's hint. "Let's go talk to Pop."

* * *

_The assassin was aggravated. He had misjudged where his prey was going to be. To add to it, the constant patrolling was slowing him down, and it was near impossible for him to move around. Finding the room his prey would be in was hard enough. There was no way he could move through these narrow halls, dressed as he was._

_Which is why he was now dressed in his disguise, walking irritatingly slow so as not to draw attention._

_He bowed down to a unit that passed him, one of them nodding at him before he passed. The assassin sneered as he raised up. He had half a mind to say screw it all and go home._

_But the pay was just too good to pass up. He would complete this mission, he said to himself, then return home a very rich man._

_Besides, he thought as he continued his walk. He was going to enjoy this…_

* * *

"Your father is skeptical, Ce. He thinks we know more than we are letting on." Zhou Yu said as they walked briskly back to their quarters.

"He's right." Came Sun Ce's only reply.

"Do you think it is wise not to tell your father about this?" Zhou Yu asked.

"What's to tell?" Ce was being dismissive again.

"Sun Ce, they will all find out one day." Zhou Yu said with a sigh.

"We have bigger things to worry about right now, Yu." Ce said as he finally looked over at his oath brother.

Then suddenly stopped walking.

He and Zhou Yu looked at their feet, then the ground they were standing on, then back at each other.

"Do you feel that?" Ce asked.

"Yes. That vibration." He looked at the ground again. "It must be from the storm."

There was an ear piercing sound of thunder and they both looked up, then at each other.

"I don't like this storm, Ce." Zhou Yu said grimly. "It's not like Wu to have this type of weather this time of year."

"It's not like Wu to have this kind of weather, ever, buddy." Ce said as he looked at him. "Could this be a bad omen?"

Zhou Yu nodded. "The question is, of what?"

"I'd rather not wait around to find out." Ce said as he turned and started to his quarters at an even faster walk, Zhou Yu right behind him.

* * *

Storms. Da hated storms. She detested them, and had from a very early age. A few thunder sounds here and there were okay for her to handle. But this? This storm that shook the very ground beneath her feet? It terrified her.

She paced another time in Sun Ce's room, her glowing eyes seeming troubled. If the storm didn't let up, she didn't know what she was going to do.

She felt a presence and listened as the door to the chambers opened. She heard footsteps coming closer and looked up to see Sun Ce in the door way, looking at her.

He looked her from head to toe, whether from admiring her or making sure she was ok, she couldn't tell.

Da bowed, praying he couldn't see her blush, something he seemed to be able to do without any kind of effort.

He finally spoke, his voice ringing through the room. "I'm glad to see that the storm has not bothered you overly much. Are you ok?"

Da couldn't meet his eyes. Whether she was scared of what her reaction would be or scared of what the look in his eyes would tell, she didn't know. But she answered him, nonetheless.

"I am not… overly fond of storms, my lord." she said quietly.

Sun Ce studied her for another moment before moving over to the other side of the room to take his shirt off. Da turned and busied herself with finding him another, mostly because she didn't want to look and remember what they had done just a little while ago.

Sun Ce studied her again as she looked, watching the graceful, fluid movements she displayed while doing any mundane task.

"Is the killing of a maid tonight the work of one of your friends, Selene?" He asked.

"I don't know what you are talking about, my lord." Came her reply. One he had heard before.

Thunder rolled overhead.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Will you deny this the same way you deny your presence in my room that night?" He asked, making her wince at the double meaning of that statement.

"My lord, it was not me." She said again.

"Why do you insist on lying to me?"

"Why do you insist that it was me?" she countered.

Thunder sounded again.

Sun Ce bounced of the wall and walked over to her. He slowly started to circle her, and she slowly raised up, highly aware of his presence. He circled her a few times, looking at her up and down, all the while never stopping his slow, deliberate pace.

He slowed down behind her and leaned in close to her ear, "Because it was you, Selene."

Da nearly gasped when he spoke. She was so concentrated on his movements that she had forgotten that they were having another argument.

"Everything about you, calls to me." He said as he started to rotate around her again. "Your body, your eyes, your voice, your scent." he stopped his rotating in front of her at that last comment.

"Gods, your scent." He said barely above a whisper as he leaned in and inhaled her scent as he did not too long before.

Da couldn't breath with him that close. It was the most oddest sensation she had ever felt in her life. She didn't know how she kept standing there, with him so close and her knees like jelly.

The candlelight seemed to drape the entire room in a seductive embrace, and danced on Sun Ce's skin like little nymphs baiting her to touch it.

He leaned back, Da feeling an unwelcoming disappointment when he did, then walked the few steps that separated them until was only a few inches, and looked directly into her eyes.

"We both had a connection that night, Selene." He said, his gaze intense.

Da felt a blush creep up, and she hurriedly turned away, his shirt in her clenched hand.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I feel nothing towards you." she said, lying, her voice curt.

"Is that why you leaned into my hand that night? Is that why you left me alive? You felt nothing?" She heard Sun Ce say as he came closer to her back.

She whirled on him, half from not wanting him to touch her, and another half from her temper sparking.

The man seemed to have a gift for starting her temper. "How can I feel anything when this night you speak of does not exist?"

"Is that what you are going to keep telling yourself, Selene?" Ce asked as he advanced on her. "It never happened?"

"I am not the assassin!" she said again, backing up away from him and feeling like they have argued this many times already.

"Bullshit." he said again.

"Ugh!" Da threw her hands up, one still clutching the shirt, then turned and walked out of the room.

"Selene!" He said to her again and followed her out.

Da kept walking down the hallway, not wanting to face the man who infuriated her so much.

"Selene." He said again, before he grabbed her arm to spin her around.

Da Qiao turned to him, and was about to demand he tell her what he wanted from her, when vibrations from the floor caught her attention.

She looked down at her feet then remembered the storm.

A sudden wave of fear came and she looked up, just as an ear piercing sound of thunder sounded, making her gasp and grab the wall behind her.

Sun Ce saw her gasp, her glowing eyes widen, and back up to the wall, her face full of terror. He was shocked by this reaction from her, never expecting this.

Another loud sound of thunder came and she cringed with another gasp.

Any anger that Sun Ce might have had, disappeared as he crossed over to her and took her into his arms as another violent sound of thunder came through, the vibrations getting stronger.

Something off a nearby shelf fell off and splattered to the floor, shattering into a million pieces.

Ce felt Da grab onto his arms tighter, and cling to him at the sound of the glass breaking. He knew he had to get her out of the hallway.

"Come on, Selene. We need to get out of here." He said but another crashing sound of thunder happened and she gasped again, too frightened to do much of anything but be encompassed by her own fear.

Sun Ce, taking charge of the situation, picked her up in his arms, and debated where exactly to go with her while they waited out the storm. Making up his mind, he ran hurriedly to his room where he paused by his bed long enough to pull the covers down, and he placed her on there.

She looked up at him, confused momentarily at his choice of placement before another peal of thunder sounded and she buried her head in a pillow.

Soon, she felt his strong arms encompass her, and she gladly welcomed the safe haven they promised as another peal of thunder sounded. She soon felt one of his arms leave and she was about to protest when she saw him just pull the covers up to where they nearly covered her entirely before he replaced his arms around her.

And she seemed to lose all track of how long she stayed there.

Another loud sound of thunder roared, and she grabbed his arms harder, sinking deeper into the covers while trying to keep her fear from swallowing her whole.

"Shh. Don't be afraid. You're safe now." She heard Sun Ce say above her as his hold around her tightened.

She knew she shouldn't have felt safe. She knew that she should jump out of the bed, and yell at him for touching her, or at least run. She should jump from the bed and find Xiao if she really needed someone to help her cope with her fear.

But she realized that, even though she didn't trust this man, and despite the fact that she was assigned to kill him, she had never felt more safe in her life.

She absentmindedly started to trace the contours of his muscles, each a story of it's own. She felt him tense as she did so, not expecting this from her. She felt his heartbeat pound strongly in him, reminding her of his strong personality. She saw a gold band around one of his arms and moved one of her hands from his chest and she slowly felt it.

It was an heir's band. Worn by the future ruler of a kingdom. Feeling of it was the last thing she remembered before she relaxed her head and went into a merciful, dreamless slumber.

Sun Ce couldn't help but remember the last time he had her in his arms. That night. That one night that had suddenly changed his world. He just hoped that she didn't end this hold as she had done the previous one. He felt her settle closer to him and start to feel of his band. He wondered what her fascination with it was, when her movements gradually stopped and her hand slowly fell from his arm.

A sound of thunder echoed, but she did not stir nor cringe as he expected her to. Another one came, and then another, and still no reaction out of her.

Sun Ce looked down to see her head nestled against his chest, and her eyes closed in a dreamless repose. He was stunned. How could she fall asleep like that? Did she really trust him that much? He was shocked again to find himself wanting her to. Why? He could not say. Only that it created this weird feeling in his heart.

He quickly regained his composure and studied her features. She was beautiful, mesmerizing even. Her features were almost perfect, but then again, so was his. He stayed there, perfection looking into its equal, for awhile. This was his match, probably the only person who could rival him in anything, and she was asleep, so vulnerable, yet a volcano, ready to explode at a moments notice.

He could kill her. End it all, this weird dream, in one instant. And yet, as the thought crossed his mind, he realized that he couldnt. If what he and Zhou Yu suspected was right, then she had potentionally given up her life for his. Besides, could he kill someone who looked so innocent while they slept?

He studied her face a little longer before he laid his head down as sleep came over him also. The first time he had felt like sleeping in days. But he couldn't help but wonder...

Could the person sent to steal his life from him, steal his heart too?

* * *

Xiao Qiao ran into Zhou Yu's study at the sound of something falling. She soon located the sound and stared at the book that had fallen on its side. She slowly moved across the room, uneasy with the vibrations from the floor, and put the book back into position with a glare.

Vibrations struck again and something behind her fell. She whirled around only to find several books falling from shelves and tables alike. She looked up at the ceiling, eyes wide and started to back away, feeling terrible dread at the storm that let out an ear piercing crackle overhead.

Her retreat backwards to the wall ended abruptly as she stepped on a lone candle stick, one that had fallen from a table close to her, and it slipped from under her weight, sending her crashing into a table then onto the floor. Her collision with the table caused a vase of roses to wobble.

Xiao looked up in time to see the vase fall from the table and she cringed with her eyes shut. The vase hit the floor with a sickening sound as it shattered into a million pieces.

Xiao cried out as a few pieces of glass lodged into her hand. She looked at it and blood was already starting to flow from the open wounds.

Another thing fell from another shelf and she knew she had to get off the floor. However, when she tried to put weight on her hand to get up, a pain shot up her arm and she fell again.

She was about to try to get up again, but strong arms came around her. One under her knees and another on her back, and they lifted her off the floor with simplifying ease. She looked up to see that it was Zhou Yu carrying her, and she stared at his face for the few seconds he carried her before he put her into a chair by the fireplace.

"Are you alright?" he said as he knelt in front of her. "Is this all that is hurt?" He asked, looking at her hand.

Xiao was so shocked by the look in his eyes, a look of deep concern, that all she could do was look in his eyes and nod.

"Okay. Let me get some stuff to take care of that." He said before leaving the room.

Xiao stared at the door, not knowing what to think. Why hadn't she heard him come through or at least felt his presence? Why did she feel weird while he was carrying her? And why was he so concerned about her when he only wanted to keep an eye on her?

Zhou Yu hurried back into the room, a kit in his hands.

"How do you feel?" He asked, looking at her face.

"I'm fine." Xiao said with a smile. Then looked at his robe. "I got blood on you." She said with a hint of disappointment.

"Do not worry about it. I am more concerned for your safety than I am for my garment." He said as he pulled out the necessary tools needed to help her.

"Let me see it." He commanded and Xiao held out her hand. He looked at it for a moment before picking up a tool to get the glass out. "This may hurt."

Xiao smiled. "I'm not fragile."

Zhou Yu wondered what exactly she had meant by that, but didn't ask. He slowly rotated her hand before choosing a starting place. He looked into her eyes, hers staring at him and his work, before pulling the first one out.

Xiao cringed at the rush of pain that flooded through her hand, but never muttered a sigh of protest. She had felt worse pain in her life. This was a piece of cake compared to torture rituals used by enemies.

She knew she had to get her mind off the pain, so she looked around the room while he worked on her hand. She saw the many shelves of books and started to identify the subject they contained, but none of it held her attention. She started to look back at him, knowing he himself was distraction enough, but her eyes fell on a poetry book on his desk.

"Do you like poetry?" she blurted out. She hadn't thought of him as the type… But once she thought about it, it seemed very befitting of his charming personality.

"Immensely." He answered with a glance to her face only to see she was smiling that beautiful smile again.

He suddenly realized he had stopped his work, and he shook his head and got back to it.

"I met a man one time. A very old one, who enjoyed poetry. He would constantly quote it with ease and would make it fit into any conversation." She said wistfully, recalling the memory. "His favorite poems were about rivers."

She looked at him suddenly, stars in her eyes. "Do you have a favorite poem?"

"I enjoy all kinds of poetry. As long as it is well written." He said, trying his best not to look at her, and keep his mind focused on fixing her hand.

"I like ones about roses." She said, causing him to look up, a cryptic grin on her face.

"Roses?" He asked.

"Mhmm."

Zhou Yu smiled before returning to his work. He could feel her gaze on him, and he slowly started going though his collection of memorized poems before he picked out one that he thought she might like.

"In my autumn garden I was fain to mourn among my scattered roses." He found himself repeating, his voice vibrating through the tense silence.

"Alas for that last rosebud which uncloses. To Autumn's languid sun and rain. When all the world is on the wane." He had finished pulling out all the glass, and started putting salve on it before starting to wrap it.

His voice vibrated through Xiao, capturing her, entrancing her till nothing else existed except him. She felt herself holding her breath as he talked, not even wanting her breath to interrupt him as he spoke.

"Which has not felt the sweet constraint of June, nor heard the nightingale in tune." He stopped for a second and ripped the cloth he was wrapping her hand with before securing it.

"Broad-faced asters by my garden walk, you are but coarse compared to roses." He started closing his kit, the job on her hand done.

He suddenly looked at her, an intensity that usually didn't adorn his eyes suddenly there, making her catch her already ragged breath.

"More choice," his eyes never left hers, but his hand reached for her injured one and began to bring it to his lips. "more dear," He lightly kissed her hand, making her heart skip a beat. "Than that last rosebud which uncloses.

He got up, taking the kit with him, and crossed the room to set it on the table that the rose vase had fell from. "Faint-scented, pinched, upon its stalk."

Xiao watched his every move as if her life depended on it. She couldn't seem to help it. His voice, along with his body language and his eyes, totally hypnotized.

"Though least and last," he turned from the table and back to her, his eyes immediately capturing hers. "which cold winds balk."

He slowly stepped toward her, keeping a mesmerizing eye contact with her while he spoke, his voice dripping with a magnetism that commanded her attention.

"A rose it is, though least and last of all."

Zhou Yu slowly knelt in front of her, keeping his penetrating stare, making Xiao have chills from her head to her toes, also making her dizzy.

He slowly, so painstakingly slowly, reached out with his hand, moving to touch her face.

Xiao held her breath as his hand made way to touch her, she slowly closed her eyes as the sensation of a soft touch graced the side of her face. She knew, however, it wasn't his hand that touched her but something else. Something soft, and fragrant.

She felt the touch go from her temple, all the way down to her jaw, then disappear. She opened her eyes to see a rose held in front of her face. She looked up at his eyes, and didn't understand the feeling that suddenly came over her at the look she found in his eyes.

He spoke again, his voice vibrated through her entire body, through her veins and all the way to her heart where it seemed to stay, making it beat dangerously fast, and an electric jolt covered her from head to toe.

"A rose to me, though at the fall."

It took Xiao a moment to breath and another moment to gain her wits enough to know she needed to take the rose from him. She slowly felt her uninjured hand move on its own accord and take the rose, but she couldn't take her eyes from his. Even when the ground vibrated beneath them. Or was that just her dreaming? She couldn't tell with the way he was looking at her.

His hand closed over the one holding the rose, and Xiao reveled in the contact of their skin. But she didn't have time to think about this, as he slowly pulled her down toward him. Xiao knew, through some absurd thought, that he was going to kiss her.

Her breath caught, her eyes widened, but she didn't pull away. She willingly let herself be dragged down slowly, utterly hypnotized by his dark eyes.

"_Zhou Yu?"_

Knock. Knock.

The contact immediately broke: the spell shattered. Zhou Yu and Xiao both looked at the doorway that lead to the entrance to the chamber.

Xiao immediately jumped up and ran out of the room, rushing to get the door. She opened it and bowed to the gentleman there.

The man looked at her a moment before speaking. "Where is Lord Zhou Yu?"

"I am here, Lord Quan." Zhou Yu emerged from the back. Xiao noticed that he did not bow to him, though. She left their presence, but stayed in earshot. No matter how her nerves were, and they were shot, her years of training couldn't be taken out of her head that easily.

"Father wishes to speak with you. He is concerned about whether this killing could be related to the attempt on Ce's life. He wants you to rethink your decision and agree to doubling Ce's personal guard." Quan said.

"Has Sun Ce been notified?"

Quan shook his head. "Father does not wish to disturb him on this matter. Do you think I should notify him anyway?"

Zhou Yu thought for a moment. Sun Ce was currently alone with a potentional assassin in his room. It would be justified to enter his room, but Sun Ce probably wouldn't want another interruption if they were having another... "collision". "No, Sun Ce will just object to anything we say. It's better not to bother him. Please, tell your father I will be there shortly."

Sun Quan walked away, his eyes slanted into suspicion. Something wasn't right...

Zhou Yu shut the door and made his way back to the study where he figured that Aurora would be. But he was shocked to see the room empty, the glass on the floor from the roses still untouched.

He kept looking around, thinking maybe he had impossibly overlooked her, but picked up his cape and and left the room.

Xiao Qiao leaned her ear up against her closed bedroom door, and let out an audible, relieved flush of air as she heard the door to his quarters open and shut. She turned and leaned her back to the door. She couldn't believe what had happened. She _really_ couldn't believe what had nearly happened.

He had nearly kissed her! And she had nearly let him! Xiao Qiao let out a long breath as she slid quickly to the floor and landed on her bottom. A little pout was on her face as she knew all the rules she had just broken.

What would Da think? She would be so disappointed in her. She knew better. Why had she set herself up for that? She absently stared at the flower in her hand. He was so cool. So different. Xiao tossed the rose on her bed. She had to stop thinking about him. It just wasn't right.

The ground vibrated again, making Xiao sigh. She got up and opened her door and made her way to the study. While she cleaned the glass from the vase, she named evey reason they couldn't be together.

And everyone of them kept getting more and more painful to her heart.

* * *

_The assassin stood in the shadows seething. He watched the procession as the gates once again to let in people and let other people out. He couldn't believe that he was really waiting for someone, anyone, to walk through those gates that he knew could lead him to his prey. It was demeaning, really. He was reduced to this._

_But the patrolling units and the constant guard was getting on his nerves. He sat back for awhile, and learned when they came down which corridor at what time, but if he didn't know what room his prey was in, what did it matter?_

_The assassin lifted his head with excitement as someone caught his eye. He watched as a general moved toward the gate and it opened to him. He knew this general. He was close to his prey. Not as close as he would normally want, but he would make do._

_The assassin smiled cryptically. He would just have to wait a little longer for him to come back through again. After that, it would all fall into place on his sinister puzzle of death._

* * *

**_You're bad for me, I clearly get it._**

**_I don't see how something good could come from loving you._**

**_The death of me, must be your mission,_**

**_because with every hug and kiss you're snatching every bit of strength_**

**_That I'm going to need to fight of the inevitable. _**

**_And it's a heartbreaking situation. I'm up in but I can't control._**

**_...Am I just another victim of an assassin that broke my heart down?_**

* * *

**Ahhh. An update. Closing lyrics, can anyone guess? It's Beyonce "Poison". You will probably see more lyrics from this song later on. Anyways, as usual, FanFiction messed me up. I had half of this written and was super tired so i decided to go to bed. I had saved it, but had the utter surprise to find that the some 4,000 words I had were now reduced to 68. FanFiction had deleted half of my work. Needless to say, I was mad. And also, it took out my drive to write for awhile.**

**However, I pulled through. Obviously. So, the usual, reviews and comments are always appreciated. But also, does anyone other than me rush to see if they can get to their category before the ad pops up? I find myself doing that a lot lately and I was wondering if I am the only one who races that infuriating thing lol!**

**Oh, and I guess I turned the fire from Da and Ce to Xiao and Yu, huh? Do realize I have very good plans for our kick-ass assassin Qiaos. It's not everyday that we can see them as threats, but I do intend for you to see it now. Especially Xiao. I think I'm going to have too much fun with her beating people up...**

** As always,**

_**ShadowingPassion9532**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_His eyes showed pure delight as he slashed his sword again. He laughed at the sound of blood falling on the floor into the puddle already formed by previous bloodshed._

_What was he thinking? Trailing someone. He was better than that. Which was why he had come up with this idea. A message. A message to her._

_Her. His prey. He was unhappy with his prey. She seemed to outthink him at every turn and disappear just when he found her. But it wasn't that. He had come to be more obsessed with his prey because of her awesome traits to vanish into thin air. It was another thing that he was unhappy with her about._

_There was another man involved. And that just couldn't do. Wouldn't do. She was his prey. His possession. No other man's._

_And she would know this, he thought, as soon as he had her in his grasp._

_He pulled on a rope a little harder then slashed his sword again, closing his eyes at the sound of the blood spattering. He breathed in the confection that the scent of the blood had and exhaled in bliss._

_It was almost as perfect as she smelled…_

* * *

Xiao Qiao woke up in her bed with a jolt. She sat up in a flash and quickly looked around her temporary room.

There were two things she knew. One, it was morning. She didn't need to look in a mirror to know that. She could feel it with a familiar awareness like Da Qiao could feel when it was night.

Second, she knew something wasn't right. That something that wasn't right, was also the reason that she woke up the way she did. Her instincts were screaming at her to get up and see what was wrong. And if she didn't, well, she didn't want to think about that.

Xiao looked around the room before she stared at the door. She narrowed her eyes and slowly crawled out of the bed without making a single sound. She slinked to the door and put her back to it before listening for anything out of the ordinary.

She didn't hear anything and that made her narrow her glowing eyes again. What was she feeling?

She twisted onto the wall beside the door and cracked it open to see on the other side. She saw nothing that was out of the ordinary so she opened it wider, not making a squeak, and snuck into the hallway.

She slowly made her way to Zhou Yu's room using all the caution she could while making her way over there. If he was the reason she was waking up, she didn't want him to know she was up.

She looked at the knob on the door and knew it was locked. She just had a feeling. So she knelt down to where the keyhole was, and looked through. Zhou Yu was laying on the bed, his chest rising and falling in even breaths.

Xiao Qiao stepped away from the door with a confused look. She slowly made her way down the rest of the hall, checking room after room before she came to the open quarters. She looked around, her trained eyes leaving nothing unturned before she looked at the door that led into the corridor.

She looked back at Zhou Yu's door before walking across the floor, a few slow steps at a time. She opened the door to the hallway just a little before fully opening it and stepping out in the hallway.

Instantly, her instincts spiked, sending her heart at a sharp race. The hallway was dark due to the only thing lighting the basement was blazers that were dying from lack of attention during the night.

She looked both ways, listening for something, anything that could tell her why her instincts were so high. She stuck to the wall behind her and slowly made her way down the hallway.

Something wasn't right. She could feel that down to her very molecule. An icy chill went down her spine. Someone was in the hall with her.

She could feel they were in the hallway straight ahead of her, in the shadows that the dull blazers couldn't touch. She hurriedly crouched and rolled to the other side of the hallway, her back landing against the wall. She could feel that they were getting closer, and she slowly raised up on the wall, keeping close to the corner she would jump around to ambush them.

Her heart raced, adrenaline pumped through her blood. She felt them getting closer, and closer…

Then she struck.

Her arm flew out to hit them, but was caught immediately on her wrist.

"It's me." Da Qiao said indifferently, looking everywhere down the surrounding hallways.

"You feel it too?" Xiao asked, dropping her attack when Da released her wrist.

"Yes. I came this way to make sure you were okay." Da Qiao looked Xiao over before taking a breath. "I don't like this. We are in a closed basement with a possible assassin on the loose. This isn't exactly my preferred type of working conditions."

Xiao grinned. "What? Don't like the competition, Da?"

Da just glared at her.

Xiao got serious. "Okay. We both feel something's wrong. The question is, What?"

Da shook her head. "I don't know. But maybe we should go analyze the body of that maid. If we see how she died, maybe we determine if it was by an assassin or not."

"Hmm. Good idea. Just one problem. We are being kept an eye on. Don't you think it will look just a little tiny bit suspicious if we aren't there when they wake up?" Xiao said with her arms crossed.

Da shrugged. "The other maids will be up shortly and will see to their needs. We could say we were helping to serve breakfast. The cook is a little old anyway so she's getting quite forgetful. Also, we are stay maids. We only are there to serve them if they need us during the night."

Da Qiao turned to Xiao with a bland smile. "And it is clearly morning."

"Did the prince need you during the night?" Xiao asked with a smile.

Da Qiao looked away from her to the corridor. "He slept…rather soundly." Da Qiao had woken up to her gut telling her something wasn't right. When she saw she was in the arms of Sun Ce, the person she was supposed to kill, she was more than shocked.

But also, and she may never admit it to anyone, she was a little bit thrilled.

Xiao's eyebrows came together. "Oh? Did you put poison in something?"

"No." Da sighed. "At least, not yet."

The thunder rolled again, making Xiao remember Da's fear of storms.

"How are you taking the storm?" She asked.

Xiao could have swore Da blushed. "I… I am taking it very well." Da managed to spit out.

Xiao narrowed her glowing eyes at Da but didn't push it. "So, how do we get passed the gates?"

"Well, there are tons of closets down here that I'm sure have some guard uniform we can use. And if not, we can always take out a few patrolling guards, yes?" Da said with a smile.

Xiao smiled. "And our excuse to getting over to the other side?"

"I'm sure your quick wit can come up with something."

"It's kind of creepy that we are talking about examining a body and thinking about adding more bodies to the total like it is a normal, everyday experience." Xiao observed.

Da smiled again. "Indeed."

"Ahh." Xiao sighed contently before she started walking down the corridor. "I love what we do."

That remark caused Da to laugh as she followed a stretching Xiao down the hallway.

* * *

Zhou Yu woke up and pulled the covers off of him before leaning over the side of the bed. He rubbed his face with his hands before he sighed, stood up, and walked out of the room shirtless.

He went into the bathing chamber and washed his face. He walked out of the bathing chamber wiping his face with a cloth, when he realized that Aurora's door was slightly open. His eyebrows came together in confusion and he made his way over to her door carefully.

When he got about a foot from the entrance, he stopped.

"Aurora?"

Thunder was the only thing that answered him. He stepped forward and pushed the door open all the way and looked into the room. He saw that the bed wasn't made and none of her clothes were out.

He pulled back, completely puzzled now, and threw the cloth aside as he made his way around his quarters. He checked his study, incase she was raiding his files, and didn't see any sign of human activity anywhere. He started hurriedly looking everywhere in his chambers for her.

He found nothing.

He opened the door that led into he open corridor and looked both ways. He turned and started half walking half running down the hallway.

He turned a corner, and nearly ran into Sun Ce.

Thunder rumbled.

Sun Ce, shirtless also, looked at Zhou Yu for a moment. "Is Aurora in your room?"

Zhou Yu raised an eyebrow at the question. "No. I take it that Selene isn't in your room?"

Sun Ce shook his head as he looked down the surrounding corridors for any sign of the missing maids.

"No. I woke up and she was gone." That wasn't a lie. The thing was, Sun Ce woke up because when he reached for Selene subconsciously in his sleep, he only caught empty blankets. What disturbed him, was that he reached for her, as if it were a natural occurrence and she should be there.

"Do you think they went to help with the serving?" Zhou Yu asked.

Sun Ce looked at him incredulously with an eyebrow raised.

"That's a no." Zhou Yu sighed. "Where do you think they went?"

"I don't know." Sun Ce ran a hand through his hair. "Where would you go if you were an assassin?"

Zhou Yu pondered this for a moment. "Do you think that they went to check out the body?"

Sun Ce shrugged. "Why would they?"

"To see if there was another assassin?" Zhou Yu suggested with his eyebrows raised. "If what we thought last night is right, they would be a little weary of other assassins, don't you think?"

Sun Ce nodded. "I guess that's a place to start." He said before turning and walking towards that direction at a brisk pace.

"How would they get past the gates?" Zhou Yu asked, walking beside Ce.

"She single-handedly got passed all three of our gates and infiltrated our 'impossible to break into' castle. I think the two of them together can come up with something to get them past one." Sun Ce said and looked at Zhou Yu.

Yu nodded. "Point taken."

Sun Ce sighed and pulled another hand through his hair before pulling it up into a ponytail.

Zhou Yu looked at Sun Ce with an eyebrow raised, noticing Sun Ce's unusual mood.

"Did everything go alright last night, Ce?" Zhou Yu cautiously asked.

Sun Ce just sighed again and rubbed his face.

Now Zhou Yu was really worried. "What happened?"

Sun Ce let out a breath. "I slept with her."

Zhou Yu's eyes widened and he stopped walking. "Excuse me?"

Sun Ce groaned. "Not like that! She's got this fear of storms, right? And we were arguing again and… and it just… happened!" Sun Ce started walking again, prompting Zhou Yu to.

Thunder rolled.

"What do you mean, Ce? You aren't making sense." Zhou Yu said, trying to rationalize what exactly Ce was saying.

"Hold up." Sun Ce said as they approached the gate that separated the maids from the lords. He nodded to the guards who turned and opened the door for him and Zhou Yu.

As soon as they were out of earshot from the guards, Ce talked.

"We were having another collision, or the start of one, when the storm acted up. She apparently has this fear of storms and she was cowering from it, Yu. I mean what else was I supposed to do?"

Sun Ce breathed out loudly again. "So, before I knew what I was doing, I was carrying her to my bed. I fell asleep holding her."

Zhou Yu shook his head. "You were playing with fire, Ce. Didn't you think she would try to kill you?"

"No." Ce said. "She fell asleep first."

At that statement, Zhou Yu raised both his eyebrows. "She fell asleep?"

Sun Ce nodded.

"Interesting." Was all Zhou Yu said.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Sun Ce breathed in deeply. "So, what about you? Anything interesting to report?"

"Your father asked me to reconsider doubling your personal guard." Zhou Yu said with a smirk.

Sun Ce groaned.

"I can only hold him off for so long, Ce. He is the ruling monarch."

"I'll make him stop. Just not right now. I'm not in my right mind."

"It shows."

"Thanks." Sun Ce said with a smirk. "So, anything interesting happen with Aurora?"

"She got hurt last night by a rose vase that broke, due to the storm I believe. I had to pull the glass out and bandage it." Zhou Yu said, talking over the noise of the storm.

Sun Ce looked at him expectantly while they walked.

"What?" Zhou Yu asked.

"There's more to that story, buddy."

"What makes you think that?" Zhou Yu raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, this must be good. You are trying to be evasive." Sun Ce said with a grin. "I can only imagine what our little assassin did."

"If you must know, I recited her some poetry and nearly kissed her but your brother showed up and interrupted it." Zhou Yu said with a hint of annoyance.

Sun Ce threw his head back. "I'm beginning to think he's got a natural born talent for that. Infuriating isn't it?"

Zhou Yu said nothing.

Sun Ce stopped Zhou Yu with a hand on his shoulder and his trademark grin. "Welcome to the dark side, buddy."

Zhou Yu glared at him and opened his mouth to retort but stopped when they heard a commotion in a room not too far away.

"What was that?" Zhou Yu asked.

Sun Ce's eyes hardened and he started running towards the sound. "I don't know, but we better find out. If I'm right, that's coming from the closet the maid was murdered in."

* * *

The guard stared into the surrounding area for the hundredth time. He shifted on his feet and yawned again. He had been standing post at the door that the dead maid was in for the last two hours with his partner, and was hungry, tired, and his feet were sore.

He and his partner heard footsteps coming and stood attentive. They saw two guards, smaller than usual, come towards them.

"Are you the replacements?" His partner asked.

One of them nodded.

"Good! I'm starving!" He said before motioning to his partner. "Let's go get some food and see if we can find a woman."

The two guards moved so the replacements could stand post. When the replacements took their stances however, one of them nearly dropped their spears, and had to grip it with two hands to keep it from falling.

One of the guards looked at the replacement guard but just walked away, shaking his head.

As soon as the two guards were gone, the two replacements nodded to each other and slipped into the room. As soon as they closed the door behind them, they started peeling clothing off.

"Why didn't you get a smaller spear?" Da Qiao hissed at Xiao.

"I didn't know they had one!" Xiao protested as she took the armor off. "How did you manage to balance yours?"

"Because I got a smaller one!" Da said sarcastically and waved the smaller spear in Xiao's face.

Xiao glared at Da and put her mask that covered everything but her eyes on. She was dressed in all black head to toe. It was easy to blend in the already dark basement when wearing black. The outfit was also the only time Da wore pants.

"What happened to your hand?" Da asked, looking at the bandage.

"Oh…" Xiao smiled sheepishly. "I tripped on a candlestick that had fallen over from the storm and a vase broke close to my hand. I had glass in it. Zhou Yu pulled it out and bandaged it." Xiao tried not to think of what nearly happed when the bandaging was done.

At that statement, Da stopped her movements of putting a glove on. She looked at Xiao with an eyebrow raised. "He bandaged it himself?"

"Umm hmm." Xiao said as she nodded.

"Hmm." Was Da's only response to that. "Put a glove on. If he sees you and recognizes your bandage, it will blow our cover."

Xiao nodded and did as she was told.

"Okay." Da said and let out a sigh before turning towards the maid's body that was on a bed with a sheet over it. "Let's do this."

She walked a few feet before she realized Xiao wasn't following her. She turned to see Xiao standing where she had last seen her, looking indecisive.

"What's wrong?" Da asked her.

"Do I really have to examine the body? You remember the last time I examined one. Isn't there something else I could do?" Xiao asked pleadingly.

Da sighed. "If we knew where they were storing their files, you could go there and see if they have any dirt on Wei. Seeing as we don't know… why don't you go and check out the room that the murder happened in? There might be a few things there that the regular guard detail missed."

Xiao Qiao beamed. "Now that I can do!"

"Do you need help getting by the guards posted there?"

Xiao waved a hand of dismissal as she turned toward the door. "Nah."

"Then dispose of those guard suits. If you need help, send out the signal." Da said as she pulled the sheet off the maid.

Xiao looked away quickly and picked up the guard suits before disposing of them. She cracked the door open and looked both ways before slipping out.

Da Qiao watched her go before she looked down at the body.

"I'm so sorry…" She said. Then she started her examination.

Xiao Qiao slinked down the darkened corridor, keeping close to the shadows as she did. More than likely, there would be patrols coming through because these areas were so important.

Her facial expression turned into one of confusion as she looked for the door. If what she heard from the other maids was right, it wasn't too far from where the body was placed.

She smelled the blood before she reached the room. She slowed her pace and slid across the wall to the corner without making a sound.

She slowly turned looked around the corner to the door and was surprised to see no guards posted and the door open.

Her eyebrows coming together in cute confusion, she turned the corner, looking both ways, and approached the doorway. She could see the blood from where she stood, several feet away, and its odor got stronger as she came closer.

She looked around the room before entering it with caution. Her instincts blared at her that something wasn't right. She took a deep breath and studied the blood on the floor.

There was so much of it!

She looked around the rest of the room, trying to put together what exactly happened. She looked at the blood pattern again and looked at it very closely, crouching down to it, before something hit her…

This blood was fresh!

A drop from above her fell into the puddle in front of her. Xiao froze. Slowly, she looked up.

And what she saw took her breath away.

There, on the ceiling of the closet, were the two bodies of the guards who Xiao supposed was posted at the door. They had been tied there, arms stretched out, blood still dripping from the multiple wounds on their bodies.

Xiao, eyes wide, stood with a hand going to her mouth in shock. She stood there for a breathless minute, staring at the massacre above her.

Suddenly, she felt something coming at her from her back.

She turned with speed brought on by years of training and deflected the fist aimed at her head. She knocked the fist off target before spinning and grabbing the other person's neck in the crook of her elbow. She kicked their foot out from underneath them and with their equilibrium easy to control for her, she used the leverage that the grip of their neck gave her and sent them reeling to the floor.

She turned, ducked and rolled to dodge any move they would have countered at her. She stopped rolling and crouched with her hand between her legs on the floor. She looked at her attacker and noticed they were dressed in the same manner she was.

The other assassin took their time getting up. Acting as if it were a practice session. They stood at their full height and Xiao realized it was a man.

He turned to Xiao's glowing eyes and she noticed his eyes were very blue. A cold, calculating, icy blue.

"Hello, Deceiving Rose." He said in a raspy voice and Xiao saw the smile in his eyes.

Her eyes narrowed at the casual mention of her guild name. She was about to ask him how he knew it, but he jumped at her.

He struck a kick at her head but she easily dodged it, moving to kick his foot from under him. He somersaulted backwards, trying to kick Xiao in the process. She barely dodged it this time, and felt the wind from his kick on her face.

The assassin landed but kept rolling backwards till he landed on his feet and sprang towards Xiao who was already charging him. He struck out a punch that she again deflected and kicked his abdomen. She kicked his chest then his face, hearing a sickening crunch, and sent him back down to the floor.

She went to kick his face, which was now bloodied, but he rolled out of the way and into the blood on the other side of the closet. Xiao was charging at him but he recovered faster than she suspected he would, and he struck out a foot that landed in her chest, sending her to the floor and skidding back a few feet.

She recovered quickly and tried to strike with her hands but he caught it and twisted it. Xiao refused to cry out from the pain that the twist gave her and give him pleasure. She flipped backwards, effectively undoing the twist, and struck out with her other hand.

The assassin dropped one hand and grabbed her other. Her injured one.

Xiao cried out and was momentarily paralyzed at the pain that his viselike grip on her hand caused. The assassin's eyes were confused for a minute and gripped her hand harder, experimenting. Xiao cried out again in pain and his eyes showed pure delight.

Xiao's eyes hardened and she went to strike with her other hand but he grabbed her hand harder, causing her to drop her attack at the pain that shot up her arm. She looked at the assassin with tears in her eyes and her anger flared. Her eyes turned to steel and she was about to attack again.

Suddenly, the assassin went forward with excessive force, dropping her hand. He fell onto the floor and skidded several feet and into the shelves on the opposite side of the wall.

Da Qiao dropped in between Xiao and the other assassin in a crouch, one leg sticking straight out to the other side, one hand on the floor and the other ready to strike.

Xiao Qiao could feel the extreme anger radiating off of Da.

The assassin opened his eyes then shook his head because he was seeing double. He stood on shaky legs and turned back to the girl he was previously torturing. He stopped cold when he saw another girl in front of her.

Her eyes didn't glow as bright as her companions, but they spoke of a green fire he could easily recognize.

Rage.

Rage at him. He was captured in a rush of fear at the death that those eyes promised for him.

And he doubted it would be quick and painless.

The girl whose hand he had cruelly gripped stood up and stood beside her companion. There was an anger in her eyes too because she had to be rescued. The assassin looked from one to another, suddenly unsure of the situation he was in and if he could get himself out.

Abruptly, they all looked at the doorway as they heard footsteps. The assassin took the opportunity to dash out the room. Xiao started to chase him but Da caught her arm.

"Let him go! We need to leave. Now." Da started to run out but stopped suddenly as a drop from the ceiling fell to the floor. She looked up and gasped at the sight on the ceiling. She was captured by the brutality clearly shown there.

The footsteps and voices projected Da back into motion. With Xiao beside her, she ran out of the room and down a opposite hallway than the footsteps.

"Da! It's Zhou Yu and the prince!" Xiao hissed in a whisper.

"What?" Da stopped her running and turned back in time to see Sun Ce and Zhou Yu approaching the bloody closet.

"They know we are gone." Xiao said while she held her injured hand that was throbbing.

Da looked at Xiao then down at her hand and pushed her back in the direction of the gate. "Come on. The maids should be up by now and the gates opened. I'll bandage that when we get back over."

Xiao glanced back one last time before running behind Da.

* * *

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu ran into the room before stopping immediately, widened eyes looking at the blood on the floor. They were both shocked by the sheer amount if it. There wasn't that much there yesterday.

Zhou Yu looked around and it didn't take him long to see the guard bodies on the ceiling.

"Ce…" He said in shock.

Sun Ce looked at Zhou Yu questioningly before following his friend's eyes to the ceiling. "Holy…"

"We need to tell Sun Jian." Zhou Yu said as he studied the bodies.

"Oh, yeah." Ce agreed, nodding. "There's no way Selene or Aurora did this, Yu. Even put together, I doubt they had the strength to lift one of the guards' bodies up. Much less two."

Zhou Yu nodded, taking his eyes off the bodies.

"Sun Ce," He said as he looked at the blood on the floor then the shelves on the opposite wall. "there has been a fight in here."

Sun Ce looked away from the guards and studied the room. "Your right."

He circled around to where he was at the mark in the blood pool and crouched to get a better look at it. "It's recent. The blood around it hasn't begun to set in yet."

"Could it be from the guards?" Zhou Yu asked with his eyebrows together in confusion.

Sun Ce looked at the shelves. "I couldn't say for that. But this mark in the blood isn't. It has just happened. See?" He pointed around it. "The blood hasn't even set in yet."

"Then who…?"

Zhou Yu and Sun Ce both made eye contact.

"We haven't found Selene…"

"Aurora hasn't been found…"

Sun Ce shot up off the floor. "Let's alert Pop. He will be busy looking at that. It will give us enough time to search the basement for them."

"Indeed." Zhou Yu said as he walked with Ce, keeping up with his fast pace. "Perhaps we should get shirts first?"

* * *

"Okay, there's definitely another assassin." Xiao said as she and Da walked through the corridor. They were both back in their maid uniforms and Xiao was holding her injured hand. Da Qiao was carrying supplies to bandage it over with.

Da Qiao stayed silent walking beside her.

Xiao looked at her to try to decode her facial expression but Da was an expressionless mask.

Xiao glanced away. "I wonder what he's here for…"

"Here." Da finally spoke as she led Xiao to a little bench and made her sit. "It's in the middle of both rooms. If someone were to look for us, they would find us here."

"Did you find anything on the body?" Xiao asked as Da unwrapped her hand.

"The injury that killed her was a cut to her throat. It bled a lot. He meant it to or he would have just broken her neck. It was an injury to be easily noticeable and leave an impression."

"A distraction." Xiao concluded.

"Correct. Or at least I would say so." Da said as she focused on her work.

"He called me by my guild name, Da." Xiao said as she looked at her sister.

"He what? Are you sure?" Da's eyes were shocked.

Xiao nodded. "Positive. He knew who I was. It's like he was waiting for me"

"He knows we are here. That means that the guard bodies are a message." Da's eyes hardened.

"What could it mean?" Xiao asked.

"I don't know Xiao. I didn't look closely. When I heard you crying out in pain…" Da shook her head.

"Yeah." Xiao thought about his eyes again. Both of them showing him taking pleasure at her pain. It was unnerving and disgusting.

She thought about Zhou Yu. His dark eyes were full of concern. His touch was tender, gentle and didn't hurt her. He was careful in everything he had done when tending to her wounds.

A small smile crossed her face as she remembered his niceness to her. Then she remembered the spell he had cast on her, his voice like a chant, as he had said his poem to her. Every word that came out of his mouth was rich and spellbinding with his hypnotizing brown eyes that seemed to want to devour her very soul as he spoke words so enchanting that she couldn't even remember them all. And then, the small caress of a flower. The touch so intoxicating that it had stolen the breath from her body.

Then, the final ingredient in his spell: his kiss.

Xiao Qiao jumped as she recalled just how close that had come. She looked up to see Da Qiao looking at her questioningly.

"Umm, Da? I have to tell you something?" Xiao said quietly.

"What, Xiao?" Da's eyes were concerned, but not angry.

"It's about last night." Da Qiao raised an eyebrow at that statement, making Xiao nervous. "After Zhou Yu bandaged my hand. You see, he-"

"Why aren't you two helping the other maids clean the rooms?"

Both sisters looked up to see the headmistress stomping towards them, face flustered.

Da spoke up. "My lady, my sister's hand-"

"You both deliberately disobeyed my order!" the headmistress yelled. "You leave without telling anyone, and now you dare to sit there and try to make excuses?"

Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao just looked at her in shock.

"There will be punishment for this! And punishment will begin immediately-"

"There will be no punishment issued." Said a stern voice.

All three girls turned and saw Zhou Yu and Sun Ce standing a few feet away.

Da Qiao locked eyes with the man who she had untangled herself from that morning. His eyes scanned her before coming back up and staring into her eyes. Da Qiao felt herself stop breathing, and her heart raced. She felt her eyelids close over her eyes as she slowly looked down his body. The body that held her and sheltered her from the storm during the night.

When her eyes finally traveled back to his, there was a fire in his eyes. He swallowed before looking away with a deep, ragged breath.

"The sisters were with us during the morning." Zhou Yu continued. "That is why they were not with the rest cleaning."

Da and Xiao made eye contact in shock. Had Zhou Yu really just covered for them?

The headmistress looked shocked and blushed a little at Zhou Yu's reprimand, making Xiao resist the urge to snort.

The mistress then looked at Sun Ce for confirmation and at Ce's nod, she bowed.

"Please forgive me, lords. I did not know. I was just worried about them wandering around alone, with the recent attack." She bowed again, this time really low.

Zhou Yu opened his mouth to speak, but Sun Ce beat him to it. "That's understandable. In fact, I agree with you." Sun Ce's glance flickered to Zhou Yu. "I think it would be best if we made Selene and Aurora our primary maids for the time being, don't you, Zhou Yu?"

Zhou Yu looked at Ce incredulously but then Ce's logic dawned on him. A smile crossed his face. "Indeed."

Xiao's eyes widened in shock and she whirled to look at Da. Da Qiao, however, was tightlipped. Xiao knew she was angry again.

Da's eyes met Ce's and he smirked at her, causing her eyes turn to green steel.

That cocky, arrogant Prince! She really didn't have time to shadow him everywhere! She had plans to find, and not to mention she had to kill him. On top of everything there was another assassin on the loose who had left them a cryptic message that she needed time to think about and decode.

She really didn't have time for this. She turned back to Xiao and started back on her work on Xiao's hand, her lips about to crack from how hard she was pressing.

The headmistress blinked at the request. "Well… if you are sure, my lord."

"Positive." Ce said, not taking his eyes off of Selene.

"Very well." The headmistress then turned to Selene and Aurora, but her gaze zeroed in on Aurora. "I hope you know the extreme gift you have been given." Her eyes on Xiao narrowed. "You must have made a _very _positive impression."

Did Xiao imagine the double meaning in that last sentence? Xiao's eyes narrowed back, and it took every fiber in Xiao's being not to jump and knock the headmistress back into the opposite wall.

The headmistress must have noticed the murder in Xiao's eyes because she stepped back quickly. "I'll… get the paperwork on that done." She said and briskly walked away.

As soon as she was a few feet away, Xiao stuck her tongue out at the headmistress's back. Da Qiao's eyes widened and she slapped Xiao's uninjured hand with a glare.

A chuckle caused Da to look up to see Ce looking at her. She turned a dark smile to him. "Please, my lord, my sister's hand wound has reopened. Please give me time to tend to it, then I will follow you."

Sun Ce answered by sitting down on the bench on the opposite side of the wall, Zhou Yu joining him. He stayed looking at Da.

Xiao Qiao, however, was still glaring into the direction the headmistress had left. "By the way she gets so jealous about any maid talking to Zhou Yu, you would think she was his primary maid!" She whispered harshly to Da so Ce and Yu wouldn't hear.

"She was." Da answered simply as she finished the salve and started wrapping Xiao's hand back up.

"Really?" Xiao asked shocked. Da nodded. "How do you know?"

"Mei Mei likes to talk." Da answered.

Xiao fell silent, giving Da time to think while she worked. If she couldn't investigate during the day, she would have to do it during the night. But he probably would keep a bigger eye on her now. That meant she would need him in a deep sleep that lasted through the night, so he wouldn't wake up and come looking for her.

She would have to give him some of her poison. Not enough to kill him, just to put him to sleep. Then she could spend her time immersed in her beloved night doing her business.

A small smile curled at her lips. She was going to best this Prince.

Vibrations were felt through the floor and thunder peeled again. All four looked up, having totally forgotten the storm.

"Sis?"

At the sound of Xiao's voice, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu looked down to see Xiao looking at Da. Da Qiao was looking at the ceiling with wide, fearful eyes.

Xiao's uninjured hand reached out and grabbed on of Da's. Da Qiao looked down at Xiao and her sister flashed her an encouraging smile. It took a moment, but a small smile came across Da's face. She pulled her hand from Xiao's and started wrapping Xiao's hand again.

Zhou Yu looked over at Sun Ce in time to see him sit back down. Zhou Yu hadn't noticed but Ce had stood up when he had seen Selene's fearful gaze directed at the ceiling.

Zhou Yu looked at him with an eyebrow raised. Sun Ce just shrugged and shook his head, releasing a breath as he did so, before looking back at Selene.

Sun Ce studied her as she worked on her sister's hand. Her eyebrows came together the slightest bit as she thought some extreme matter over. It was so different from how she slept. When she slept, she was relaxed, and held some childlike innocence.

Sun Ce leaned with his elbows on his knees and looked at his hands. He was disturbed by waking up reaching for her. Even more disturbed by how concerned he was when he realized she was no where to be found.

She had trusted him in her time of need, though. That's what kept jerking at his heart. She fell asleep in his arms, knowing she would be vulnerable and he could kill her so easily while she was in that state.

And yet, she had trusted him not to.

He looked up when he saw fabric before him. There, bowing, was Selene. As soon as she came up from her bow, she looked into his eyes with a hint of something.

A challenge. Her eyes were telling him that he didn't know what he had got himself into.

"I am yours to control, my lord." she said with another dark smile.

Oh, how her comment was pregnant with meaning…

Oddly enough, he felt a smirk pulling at his lips. He stood up to his full height, letting her know just how powerful he was. That she was the one who didn't know what they had gotten themselves into.

Da Qiao needed no demonstration. She looked at his chest, and remembered the hard muscle that was underneath that shirt. The man radiated pure strength. He represented the tiger that his family held so highly.

She looked back up into his eyes, she had to lean her head back to, and saw a cocky grin on his face. Almost a predatory grin.

She would learn one thing before the day was though:

He _liked_ a challenge.

Zhou Yu raised an eyebrow at the scene. He wondered if Ce knew exactly what he was getting into.

Zhou Yu turned to see Xiao bounce a bow to him before raising up and flashing him a smile. She was going to constantly be there, smiling like that, all day.

He then wondered if he knew what he had gotten _himself_ into by agreeing to this…

* * *

_The assassin looked in the mirror and turned absolutely livid as he looked at his face._

_The bitch had branded him!_

_He pulled a cloth out and started to wipe away the blood. His movements were precise but held true to the aggravation and anger that showed in his eyes._

_Suddenly, those precise movements stopped. He stared at the mirror for a long, thoughtful moment._

_Then a smile, one that no one would want to know the meaning of, crept onto his face. Though his eyes still held tinges of anger in them, a calmness now replaced the aggravation._

_He was done trying to play nice with his prey. He was done trying to tell her that he was the man she wanted._

_If she could not see simple logic… then he would have to show it to her. And he would enjoy doing it._

_He hoped she gotten his message loud and clear, because he was coming after her. He would have to wait, he already knew this. But he was definitely going to find her and let her know that he was everything that other man could never be. That she wasn't even worthy of the greatness that was him._

_And after he had her where he wanted her… he would brand her for his own._

_Forever._

* * *

_**Got venom dripping from my lips, know who you're about to kiss**_

_**Think that you can handle this, boy, it's on**_

_**That bad girl power I got, I'll abuse it tonight**_

'_**Cause tonight, got poison on my mind…**_

* * *

**Okay, let's face the facts. I, ShadowingPassion, cannot write a short chapter to save my life. I seriously thought this one was going to be short when I had it all mentally written down. Then, I typed and realized that, nope, it wasn't. I will seriously try to work on an intervention if it bothers you guys too much.**

**The closing lyrics are "Poison" by Nicole Scherzinger. So, anyone wanna place bets on what will happen next?**

**If I don't get back to your review for awhile, please forgive me. I will be busy for awhile, and I honestly don't know when I will be able to access the internet. However, I will get back to you. Promise!**

**And, yes, I will eventually update Are You Jealous Yet. My tastes have just been a little dark lately.**

_**ShadowingPassion9532**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 of My Poisonous Kiss.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Let your mind start a journey to a strange new world**_

_**Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before**_

_**Let your soul take you where you long to be**_

_**Only then… can you belong… to me…**_

_**-Music of the Night, The Phantom of the Opera**_

* * *

_His fingers slowly slid over her bed in sensual grace. He breathed in all the aromas that the room had to offer, but there was only one scent that he wanted. The scent that clung to her clothes, hair… and skin with a passionate lover's caress._

_His fingers left her bed and went over to her mirror. He touched all the things she touched. Going painstakingly slow over every one of her items to savor the sensation that would be gone all too quickly. Way too quickly for his personal tastes._

_It was no matter, however. He would soon be caressing her instead of these mundane things._

_He found what he was looking for and picked it up with renewed vigor. He searched this new item until he found what he wanted. He picked it out and dealt with the item like it was fragile glass. He breathed in the smell that her room held one more time before turning and beginning to leave._

_However, something stopped him. He turned to look and see something popping out from underneath her pillow._

_He slowly made his way over to her bed and reached under the pillow to pull out the delicate fabric. He looked at it for a minute, analyzing all of its properties, before pulling it up to his nose and slowly, but deeply, took a breath of it._

_He let out a ragged breath and tried to gain control of himself, failing in that endeavor. He thought about putting the fabric back, but thought against it._

_He tucked the fabric away into one of his numerous hidden pockets, a smile on his face. This was another message to his prey._

* * *

Her eyes that never could be determined for any specific color, were bright and she blinked once before looking in another direction. Her steps had a light bounce in them as she followed her master and also another pair of master and maid. She was at the back of the group, as was her preference.

Her arms swayed slightly by her sides as she walked in almost a carefree manner and joyous abundance. Something a regular maid would never do.

But she was no regular maid.

A small smile had blossomed on her face as she walked, humming a lullaby as she did. She closed her eyes briefly as she breathed in the sweet moment, ever the perfect picture of serenity and peace.

However, as time has so rightly shown since the beginning of creation, nothing lasts forever.

The group came to an intersection of corridors, and the first three kept walking straight, intent on getting to their destination.

She, however, stopped in her tracks when she reached the middle of the intersection as a familiar smell reached her senses. She raised her nose high and took in a deep breath with curious intention.

The first emotions to cross her face was recognition at the smell, then fear at what the smell clung to. She was no longer the carefree walker of just a minute ago.

Her eyes closed again and she took a deep breath and found her center. She slowly let her senses branch out to find what they may, although she was dreading the possible outcome.

She heard a soft sound: the sound of cloth moving. Her eyes shot open and her head whirled to face the corridor to her left, the only corridor at the intersection that was unlit.

And she doubted that circumstance was coincidental.

She narrowed her eyes and searched the darkened hallway to see what secrets of destruction it held. What passionately protected being it kept within its encompassing darkness.

Her eyes widened as she noticed a movement in the darkness. It was brief and almost imperceptible, and probably wouldn't have been noticed by anyone else. But she noticed it.

Her eyes narrowed and she turned and took one step in the direction of the darkness.

Movement occurred again, making her stop to look. She focused herself and peered harder into the darkness.

She sighed in relief at what she saw. It was a banner, swaying every so often due to a draft in the basement. Not some monster or killer waiting to bring about her demise.

She suddenly whirled back around when she felt a presence behind her. She turned and looked into her sister's eyes and face that were so much like her own. Her sister looked at her questioningly, but did not directly ask what was obvious.

The girl looked at their masters who kept walking, not noticing that both their maids were not following.

She looked at her sister and smiled sheepishly with a shrug before skipping forward and, grabbing her sister's hand, made way to follow the two generals.

Ignoring the feeling that the movement in the darkness was not entirely due to a banner.

* * *

_She had a hand raised to his abdomen, her green eyes glowing. He reached out a hand and she leaned in…_

_Then later in the forest, he had her in his arms and the moon peeked out from the clouds. It was almost if the moon had wanted him to see her face…_

_Then in the hallway not too long ago. He leaned in to smell her scent, one that stirred his senses to no end. And she, being a vixen, ran her nails down his abdomen, making him loose all sanity…_

"I think we were right, Sun Ce. The sisters are indeed in danger." Zhou Yu said to Ce as guards carried the new bodies out of the closet.

Both men were in the closet, as were a horde of guards and generals. At his sworn brother's prolonged silence, Zhou Yu looked at Sun Ce with an eyebrow raised. Sun Ce was beside him leaning against a wall with one leg propped on it. His arms were crossed, but one arm lead up to a hand that Ce was using to pinch the bridge of his lip with. His naturally spirited eyes were closed.

"Is something wrong, Ce?" Zhou Yu dared to ask.

"Nah." Ce said as he opened his eyes and kicked off the wall. "Just thinking. I think you're right but we can't protect them at all times. Especially not with Pop and now Quan and Ning watching my every move. And since you're close to me, they're watching you too."

Zhou Yu flicked his gaze to the outer hall but couldn't see either of the sisters due to the other primary maids blocking his view.

"I had noticed their eyes on me a few times. Others I had felt. I do not mind the curiosity. If I were them, I would probably do the same." Zhou Yu admitted.

"Ce!" Sun Jian called to him. "What do you make of this mark in the blood?"

Sun Ce walked forward and knelt beside the mark. "When I had examined it earlier, I had noticed that it was a recent mark. After the guards had been killed."

"Hmm, yes." Jian said as he knelt next to his son. "The blood has just recently begun to set."

"Exactly." Ce nodded. He felt eyes on him and looked up to see Quan giving him a look. One he couldn't fathom, but if he had to bet, he would guess it had to deal with him knowing the blood was recent, but not knowing which way Selene went.

Even though he really did know.

Sun Jian rose up and looked at Zhou Yu. "Do you think this attack was done by the same assassin that came after Sun Ce?"

Zhou Yu looked thoughtful for a minute before shaking his head. "No, my lord. Several factors do not add up."

"Such as?" Sun Jian inquired as he circled the room, analyzing everything.

"The assassin after Sun Ce was a woman. A woman, who by Ce's description, could not lift one of the guard bodies. I think the one who did this was a man. As the maid last night had attested to.

"Also," Zhou Yu said as he began to pace. "The woman assassin was fond of daggers. It was lodged in one of the guards' throat. The weapon used here was clearly a long sword. The woman of Ce's description could not wield such a sword as much as was clearly shown without extreme fatigue."

Sun Jian sighed. "I see your point."

"Pop," Sun Ce said as he stood up. "I think you should post generals here instead of regular guards and also at the room the maid is in. We need someone with experience guarding these rooms."

"I agree." Sun Jian nodded. "Huang Gai!"

Sun Ce made his way back over to Zhou Yu and stood beside him.

"Your brother was looking at you again, Ce."

Sun Ce snorted. "Yeah. I noticed."

"Do you still intend to keep him at a distance?" Zhou Yu asked him. He turned to his sworn brother with his eyebrow raised. "That was your intention, was it not? To keep them all at a distance while you sorted you problems with Selene out?"

"You gotta better idea?" Ce said with a little bit of irritation in his voice.

Zhou Yu shrugged. "I'm just wondering if it is your family you should keep at a distance, or Selene."

Sun Ce looked down as he digested this last suggestion from his sworn brother and strategist. He then shook his head.

"If what we thought about them is right, Zhou Yu, she potentially gave her life for mine. You and I both agreed that we did not like the thought of them dying to protect us. So how can we distance ourselves and protect them also?"

Sun Ce turned to look at Zhou Yu. "And you did know that you would need to distance yourself from your primary maid, too? They are watching both of us."

Zhou Yu sighed. "I was aware of that."

"Alright, now that we are on the same page, tell me. How do we distance ourselves from our maids but protect them also?" Ce asked.

Zhou Yu just stood silently by Ce, watching Sun Jian bark orders.

Sun Ce sighed. "Yeah, I was scared you were going to say that."

Zhou Yu turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Well, there is another thing we need to consider."

Ce breathed out a sarcastic laugh. "There always is. What is it?"

"This could all be fake. Aurora injured her hand to gain my trust. And Selene is out to seduce you and get information out of you."

"Impossible." Ce replied immediately.

Zhou Yu raised his eyebrow again. "How so?"

"She could have done it already. Last night, or in the hallway before that." Ce looked at Yu. "We needed distance for more than one reason, buddy."

"It makes sense of a lot of things. Like why she didn't kill you that night." Yu suggested.

Sun Ce was silent for a long moment. Finally, he let out a long breath. "Then I'll beat her at her own game. I think it's about time I started fighting fire with fire, eh, Zhou Yu?"

"What do you mean?" Zhou Yu looked at his sworn brother, confused.

Sun Ce smiled a dark, cryptic smile. "I mean she's not the only one who can charm and seduce. She's not the only one who can play with velvet. The basement is the perfect atmosphere, don't you think? It's dark, enchanting, seductive in it's simplistic make up."

He looked away from Zhou Yu with a new fire in his eyes. "If it's a seduction she wants, then a seduction she shall have." he promised.

Zhou Yu shook his head. "I don't like it, Ce. Playing with this fire will eventually get yourself burned. It's a miracle it hasn't already. You should distance yourself instead. To lose Quan's suspicion and not draw any more attention."

Sun Ce shook his head once. "I can't do that, Yu. You see, this morning, in the hallway, she did something. She challenged me." He looked at Yu. "I can't just ignore a challenge, can I?"

Zhou Yu just let out a long breath but didn't say anything.

Sun Ce smiled and looked at Yu. "What? Nothing more to say, oh great strategist?"

"What do you want me to say?" Yu asked, exasperated. "I ask you to distance yourself, and you wish to get closer. I tell you to sleep with a spear, and you sleep with your maid. If you don't mind, I'll save my breath and watch as all hell breaks loose."

Sun Ce laughed. "So what about you? What are you going to do?"

Zhou Yu remained silent.

Not because he didn't want to voice his choices to his sworn brother. Or not because he didn't trust Ce. He trusted him completely.

No, he remained silent because, as he watched Sun Jian approach them, he didn't know what he was going to do with the maid who was beginning to turn his very existence upside down.

* * *

"Jeez, how long does it take to look at a room?" Xiao Qiao huffed as she paced in front of the bench that Da Qiao was sitting on while they were waiting with the other stay maids for the generals to get through examining the closet.

"If it was us, sis, we would have been done by now!" Xiao said, and when she didn't get any answer from Da, she stopped her pacing right in front of her sister. She placed both hands on her hips and huffed down at Da.

"Instead of sitting there like some expressionless statue, you could talk, ya know?"

Da Qiao's eyes flicked up to her sister's glowing ones. With surprising patience, she replied. "I am busy at the current moment, Aurora, trying to decode the message the assassin has left us." Her lips turned up into what could be called a mini snarl. "With all this following around and everything, it is the only thing I can do."

Xiao deflated. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry. How far did you get?"

Humor shown in Da's eyes. "Not far with your ranting, I'm afraid."

Xiao deflated even more and blushed. "Oh…"

Da Qiao smiled at her younger sister. She leaned in to get Xiao's attention. "We are on a joint assignment, Xiao. If you want, you can pull up that bench," she motioned to the one across the hall, "and you and I can figure it out together."

Xiao's eyes met Da's again and she smiled. "Okay!" Xiao turned and pulled the bench up to Da.

The rest of the maids were crowding around the opening of the hallway, trying to obey not crossing the threshold but also trying to see the activity in the closet. Xiao and Da, however, were set apart in the back of the crowd so they could talk freely without being overheard.

"So what do you have?" Xiao asked as she sat across Da and started to swing one of her legs.

Da glanced at the movement but didn't get onto Xiao for it. "Like I said, not much." she sighed.

"Give me what you do have." Xiao implored.

"Alright. Well, there was two guards-"

"Two of us." Xiao interrupted smoothly.

Da nodded. "Correct. What I'm having trouble with, is the cut marks. They were meant to make an impression. A massacre. Very gruesome and very distinct in him doing so. It was a message."

"Of what?" Xiao asked.

"I think of foreboding. An ill omen."

"An ill omen to whom? Us? Or someone else?" Xiao really didn't know if she wanted to know what Da was thinking on the subject anymore.

Da sighed. "That's where I'm stuck. He _did_ attack you."

"But he's killed more Wu people." Xiao pointed out. "He said my guild name though. I wonder if he knows yours…" Xiao said in a thoughtful tone.

Da sighed and sat back in the bench. She then sighed again and looked away with an eye roll.

"What?" Xiao asked.

"The headmistress is approaching."

Xiao turned and, sure enough, the headmistress was indeed coming. "Oh, what does she want now? I swear I'm going to take her and-""

"Ladies! The corridors need to be lit. Everyone on the left of this hallway, get the left corridor. Everyone on the right, get the right corridor. Come on! Let's move, move, move!"

Xiao grumbled, causing Da to laugh. Da squeezed Xiao's uninjured hand. "Stay safe. Wear the shadows."

"Yeah, yeah." Xiao said as she grumbled and did as she was told.

She turned and waved bye to Da before disappearing around the corridor.

She turned to see the headmistress looking at her, and she just humped and held her head high while walking down the corridor to help light the blazers.

What was that headmistress's deal anyways? So what if she was Zhou Yu's head maid at one point. He was bound to get a replacement eventually. And why was the headmistress so jealous of that fact.

The answer was obvious. The headmistress had a crush on Zhou Yu. Xiao Qiao could certainly understand why. As the headmistress had pointed out the day of Xiao's arrival, Zhou Yu was a man with charms.

Charms that were dangerous to women's hearts everywhere.

But, Xiao thought as she lit a blazer, Zhou Yu didn't use his poetry charms on the headmistress…did he?

Xiao Qiao pondered this new thought. No. There was no way he did. She was unique, right? He only recited poetry like last night to her. In that manner. And the rose? Was she the only one he gave those to? What about the almost kiss? Did he kiss other girls on a regular basis?

Xiao Qiao suddenly stopped her movements. Could… could she be jealous?

Xiao Qiao shook her head and resumed lighting blazers. No. There was no way she could be jealous. She didn't care for him that way…

Did she?

Xiao Qiao suddenly jumped back when she was about to light a blazer as a movement from the shadows caught her eye. She stared at the darkness for a long moment, trying to see the movement again. What she saw made her breath catch.

She saw a shadowy figure run and disappear around a corner. She narrowed her eyes, knowing exactly who it was, and looked at the maids down the hall. She didn't see anyone watching so she turned and ran in the direction of the shadow, not caring if it was a trap or not. She had a score to settle.

She turned and saw it disappear down another corner, and she gave chase. She turned the corner and there, standing at the end of the lit hallway, was the assassin who tortured her that morning.

* * *

Da Qiao was walking back with her group, her thoughts troubled. Despite how confident she tried to seem around Xiao, she was anything but.

When she had accepted the contract to kill Sun Ce, she had thought it was going to be a quick and easy mission. One that wouldn't take much effort.

How wrong she had been.

She had every intention on killing him that night. That's why she scaled the castle walls, climbed onto his balcony, picked his lock, and entered his room.

But during that one moment of eye contact, everything had changed. And now, she was stuck in this mess with only herself to blame for the way things were. Because she refrained from completing her contract, refrained to take Sun Ce's life that very fateful night, she was stuck in this state of affairs.

To make matters worse, Xiao Qiao was also involved in the sheer pandemonium. And for that, Da could never forgive herself.

She had tried to decode the other assassin's message but wasn't getting anywhere in that endeavor. However, it wasn't because of Xiao's ranting as she had claimed, it was because her thoughts seemed to be centered around that arrogant, infuriating Prince.

Which was another reason why she was mad at him.

But that moment last night, that moment when he had comforted her, made her feel more safe than she had ever felt in her short life, she felt grateful to him. He had been there in her time of need, and in return, she was going to take the most precious thing from him.

His life.

Da Qiao came back with the rest of her group, arms wrapped around her waist in a comforting gesture, just as the generals emerged. Several of the maids joined their masters.

She saw Sun Ce and Zhou Yu walk out, following Sun Jian who was saying something to Ce. Sun Ce held his hand up and shook his head before voicing his disagreement.

Da Qiao stared at him. Everything about him spoke of his destiny to rule. His personality, his looks, the goodness of his heart that shined through everything. He would one day be the best ruler in the world.

But if she had her way, he, nor his people, would ever see one moment of that greatness. That thought made her stomach churn.

She could've made her way over there and joined Sun Ce then, but decided to wait for Xiao.

Da looked over as the group from the left corridor came back, and she expected to see Xiao. However, when the whole group had returned, Xiao was nowhere to be seen.

Da Qiao's eyes widened in shock and she quickly looked at Zhou Yu and Sun Ce, who were talking with Sun Jian. She slowly turned and walked silently away from the horde of people, and down the corridor Xiao was supposed to be.

Her sister was no where to be seen.

She stopped her silent walking and broke into a quick jog and ran to find Xiao.

If that assassin was behind this…

She couldn't finish that thought. She only ran faster.

* * *

"Sun Ce, I really think we should double your personal guard," Sun Jian said for the hundredth time.

Sun Ce did the usual reaction and shook his head. "I'm not taking it, Pop. I already told you this. The assassin would think I was scared and he or she had the upper hand. I ain't givin him that kind of credit."

Sun Jian shook his head, exasperated. "Ce, look-"

Sun Ce raised his hand. "No, Pop. The guard didn't matter the first time, and it's not going to matter a second time. If anything this closet should show you that guards obviously do not slow this assassin down."

As soon as Ce had said that, he looked of into the crowd of maids and guards and generals, piqued that Selene had not joined his side yet.

Sun Jian let out a sigh and looked at Zhou Yu, who had watched the exchange without saying anything, pleadingly.

Zhou Yu shook his head with an apologetic smile. "He has a point, my-"

"Where's my maid?" Sun Ce said as he looked over the sea of people.

"What?" Sun Jian said, the question catching him off guard.

"My maid, Selene. She isn't here." Ce said with obvious curiosity and maybe worry if Sun Jian was seeing right.

"Aurora isn't either." Zhou Yu said then looked at Sun Jian's questioning face. "My maid." he explained.

"Headmistress!" Sun Jian yelled out for her.

"Yes, my lord?" She came at once with a low bow.

"Where are my son and my strategist's maids?" He asked quickly.

The headmistress blinked at the question. "I just sent them to light the blazers in the surrounding hallways." She said, causing Zhou Yu and Sun Ce to visibly relax.

"But they should be back by now." She remarked as she looked at the crowd, causing Ce and Yu to tense up again. "I sent Aurora down that corridor," she gestured to one, "and Selene to that one. And both groups are back."

One of the headmistress's hands went to her mouth and she faced the lords again. "Now that I think about it, my lord, I recall seeing Selene come back, but not Aurora. Perhaps Selene-"

Zhou Yu shot passed the headmistress, running in the direction she had pointed that Aurora had went down.

"-went to see about her sister." She finished breathlessly.

"Shit!" Sun Ce cursed before running after Zhou Yu.

Sun Jian yelled at the surrounding generals and guards. "Spread out and search for the missing maids! Leave nothing unturned!"

He then turned and shared a look with Sun Quan.

* * *

"We meet again, Deceiving Rose." he said to her.

Xiao's eye narrowed with anger. "I owe you for this morning."

The assassin looked like he was going to say something, but Xiao didn't give him a chance. She charged.

She ran down the corridor at him and swung with her uninjured hand. The assassin looked uninterested, and simply ducked before trying to reach for her other hand. Xiao spun and grabbed his neck and kicked his feet out from underneath him before sending him crashing to the floor again.

She spun out of his reach, but he wasn't aiming for her. He got up slowly, seething that she had made him hit ground yet again. Before Xiao could react, he pounced.

He came at her with full force. It took everything Xiao had to keep blocking his moves.

He was so quick!

She kept dodging and knocking his blows at her off balance but she panicked when her back hit the wall behind her. She kept trying her best to dodge his blows, but his elbow struck out when she had dodged his hand, and hit her in her chest.

She slammed against the wall and the air flew out of her. With her momentarily stunned, the assassin saw an opportunity and took it.

He pulled on her wrist and kneed her stomach before throwing her onto the floor.

Xiao took several deep breaths to try to get the air back into her system and she tried to get up. She only got onto her knees when the assassin grabbed her injured hand hard.

Xiao gritted her teeth, and tried her hardest not to gasp or cry out. She felt the assassin lean in towards her ear, and through gritted teeth of his own, he said one chilling word.

"Scream."

And he squeezed her hand.

* * *

**Finally, a short chapter. Well, shorter than the last. I honestly had a different ending but I didn't like it. Not one bit. So I did some major rewriting and switching things up and finally got this. At least I'm updating faster! Feel free to drop a review on the way out.**

**And a lil note to WhisperMyGoodnight, No, you don't need to reread the other story. I think it's obvious that My Poisonous Kiss has officially caught, and held, my interest lately haha!**

_**ShadowingPassion9532**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 of My Poisonous Kiss**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

She hurriedly jogged down the corridor, her eyes frantically searching for that person she wanted, needed, to see. She stopped and looked down another corridor, and her heart once again dropped as she realized that they weren't down that hall either. She ran down a few more corridors, her heart dropping with each empty one she passed, when she heard a sound.

A sound that chilled her to her bones.

She hurriedly sprinted down the corridor towards that sound, praying she wasn't too late...

* * *

He squeezed her hand harder, making her grit her teeth to a point she thought they would break. The pain was so intense that it kept her on her knees, paralyzed. She refused to cry out. Refused to scream. But the blinding pain was still there.

"Scream." He said again in her ear.

Xiao's eyes opened and she looked straight ahead. Her eyes changed to pure steel and anger. Adrenaline flew through her veins, and with it came a new determination. A determination to live. It was life or death for her here. She bore the pain through and made herself think that the more she endured, the stronger she became.

She parted her lips, her eyes still opened with a new determination in them, and took in a deep breath. She turned to her captor, and looked him dead in the eye with her glowing eyes of steel.

"No." She said with anger clear in her voice. She then clicked her heel on her other foot, releasing a small knife in the front of her shoe.

The assassin's eyes widened in shock, but he didn't have time to dodge what came next.

"No!" Xiao said with a cry of hate. She spun her leg, and before the assassin could move, dug the sharp point into his thigh.

The assassin cried out but did not release her hand.

Xiao gained her footing and lunged at him again, this time hitting him in his side with her foot before kicking his chest with her other.

The assassin let go of her hand then, and tried to catch himself with his own hands. He rolled on the floor to the opposite side of the hallway. He stood up slowly, and he covered the cut on his side with his hand.

He faced Xiao Qiao and saw her on the other side of the hallway in a fighting stance. Anger was clear in her glowing eyes.

What once made her weak, now made her strong.

His mistake.

He stood staring at her for a few moments before deciding what he was going to do. He turned and dashed down the hallway, trying his hardest to get away from her. Xiao was shocked at his sudden movement to run, but gave chase. She had let him get away once, that wasn't going to happen again.

He ran down the corridor and was about to turn around the corner to another corridor, when a foot struck out and knocked him back.

He was knocked back several feet, stopping Xiao's pursuit as she looked to see who had hit him. He rolled backwards before he caught himself on his feet and he looked up to see who had stopped him.

There, in front of him, was Da Qiao, her eyes filled with rage at him attacking Xiao.

"Goddess…" he whispered.

That was all he got to say when Da reached into her hair and pulled out a pin and threw it at him. It was a razor sharp point that could kill him instantly if it hit his throat or any vital places.

He spun to dodge it while pulling out a dagger of his own and, after he had gotten done spinning, threw it at an already charging Da.

Da Qiao saw him move to throw a dagger, and she instantly dropped to her knees, sliding across the floor, and leaned back to avoid it. However, the assassin had anticipated this, and had aimed the dagger low.

Da Qiao gasped as she felt the dagger graze her thigh as she slid. The assassin started to charge on Da, but Xiao jumped onto the wall beside him, spun, and kicked him back. He dropped but rolled backwards till his feet hit the floor, and he sprang up, intending on grabbing Xiao. She, however, jumped over his crouched position.

The assassin did not stop to think about his positioning. He was in between two fully trained assassins. He instead, leapt for Xiao again. He swung at her with a fist, but she deflected it. Then the assassin felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his shoulder. He cried out and turned to look and see another one of Da's hairclips.

This one was firmly embedded into his shoulder.

He couldn't see anymore. The assassin only knew blind rage. He cried out in hate, and with speed Xiao had never seen used before, spun and kicked her chest with enough force to send her back several feet.

He felt, rather than saw, Da to his side and he turned with the unbelievable speed that he had used with Xiao and grabbed Da. He shoved her front side forcefully into the fall before grabbing her hips, and with another cry of hate, slammed her back into the opposite wall.

Da Qiao couldn't breath. Any breath she had was knocked out of her with his handling.

Her back hit the wall with bone breaking force, and she tried to crumble to the floor to regain her breath. But the assassin grabbed her neck, and shoved her against the wall again, choking her. Da Qiao looked up at him and his icy blue eyes scared her again.

He then opened his mouth to say something.

Da would never know what he was going to say. The sound of footfalls filled the corridor and the assassin hissed and dropped her to face where they were coming from.

Da Qiao dropped to all fours, coughing while trying to gain the oxygen that she lost while she was being held up to the wall. The footfall that she heard stopped at the end of the hallway that she had come from and she turned and was shocked to see Sun Ce and Zhou Yu standing at the hallway with a few guards.

There was a second of hesitation where the two generals took in the scene before them. Then they charged down the corridor towards the assassin. The assassin hissed before turning around to run the opposite way to escape them.

"Follow him!" Sun Ce ordered the guard and they took off running past Da and Xiao who were both still on the floor trying to get their breath back.

Da kept on all fours, looking at the floor trying to breathe and center herself, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Selene are you- oh." Ce said when he saw the blood on her outfit. "Come on, Selene, let's get you to a healer." He said as he picked her up.

"My lord, my sister!" she said in a panic.

"Zhou Yu!" he called to his sworn brother who was kneeling beside Xiao. "Any injuries?"

"Her hand has reopened." Zhou Yu said as he picked Xiao up.

"Come on, let's get them to a healer." Ce said as he hurriedly walked down the corridor with Selene. He came to the corridor that the closet was down, and saw the crowd of people still there.

"Ce, Zhou Yu, what happened?" Jian asked as he ran up to Ce looking at Selene and Aurora.

"The assassin. He ran but I have guards following him. I expect them to lose him so get Quan to start tracking him. I have to get her to a healer." Ce said as he walked passed his father and the rest of the crowd of people cleared a path for him and Zhou Yu to walk through.

Xiao Qiao looked around the horde of people and was surprised to see most of them staring at her. She quickly hid her face in Zhou Yu's chest, not wanting to look at the many stares of the people. When she looked up a few seconds later, she was happy to see the headmistress looking at her and Zhou Yu in shock. She was going to flash her a victory grin but her view was cut off when Zhou Yu carried her into a room.

"Medic!" Ce yelled as he set Da on one of the beds.

"My lord, set her here." an elderly man said to Zhou Yu and motioned to a bed beside where Ce had laid Da down.

"Her hand has reopened." Zhou Yu said as he laid Xiao Qiao on the bed. "You will have to bandage it again."

"Yes, sir." the medic said and got to work on Xiao's hand.

"No one gets into this room, got it?" Ce told his guard. "Unless it's my family or they come on my bidding. No other guard, maid, or medic, got it?"

The guards nodded.

"My lord?" the headmistress asked Sun Ce. "May I have permission to enter and leave as needed? They will need new clothes and such-"

"Except her." Ce ordered his guard and they bowed as he made his way back to Da.

"Aurora," Zhou Yu said, making Xiao look at him. "I have to go help with the search, but you will be safe with the guards here. I will send more as soon as I can."

Xiao smiled. "Do not worry needlessly over me, Lord Zhou Yu. I'll be fine!"

A small smile came to Zhou Yu's lips and he rose. "I will be back for you as soon as I can be."

He turned to leave but before he took one step towards the door to an awaiting Sun Ce, he put his hand on the shoulder of the medic working on Xiao. "Treat her well."

Though the words were said politely, Xiao Qiao knew a threat when it was told. It shocked her that he would issue it on her behalf.

The medic recognized the threat also. He nodded his head vigorously. "O-of course, my lord! I will treat her like royalty."

Seeming satisfied, Zhou Yu turned and walked out of the room with a grinning Sun Ce.

"Um, miss?" the medic working on Da said causing Xiao to look over at her sister. "I'm going to have to rip your dress…"

"What? But I don't have another-" Da started to protest.

"Do not worry about it. I will get you another." the headmistress said before smiling a small smile. "One worthy of a primary maid." she then looked at Xiao. "For both of you." The headmistress then promptly walked out of the room, through the guard she had been given permission to go through.

"Wow." Xiao remarked making the other medics, guards, and a small number of maids and patients in the room turn and regard her. "You know you look pretty bad when even the headmistress is nice to you."

Da gasped and glared at her but the rest of the room erupted into giggles and nodded wholeheartedly.

Then there was a ripping sound and another gasp from Da. The men turned around and faced the wall at the glare that Da Qiao gave them.

* * *

"I want guards posted wherever Selene and Aurora are at all times." Ce said as he walked down the hallway, several commanders following him. "I also want guards stationed down every corridor, and double the usual amount. Instead of two I want four."

"Yes, sir!" One said and walked off.

"I also want a list of all the new staff members from the last two weeks. Only give that to Zhou Yu."

"Yes, sir!" Another left.

"Brother!" Quan called to Ce. Sun Ce walked and met Quan halfway, eyes expectant.

"Anything?" Ce asked.

Quan nodded. "A blood trail. It starts in the hallway that you said you found the maids in and moves in another corridor before stopping without any other signs."

"What direction was it heading towards?"

"The maid's section." Quan said grimly.

"You think that he's got some kind of base set up there?" Ce asked, reading Quan's thoughts.

Quan nodded. "Yes, I do. It explains why we can't catch him. There are hundreds of closets down that way."

Ce looked at the remaining commanders. "Get all your units and search every closet down the maid's section. Report to Quan what you find." The commanders all nodded and left, leaving Ce smiling sheepishly at Quan. "Sorry to drop that on your shoulders. Pop is just going to ask me more questions and I don't have time for it."

Quan shook his head. "I understand. But, Ce, this assassin. He has come after Shang Xiang's maid, now yours. Do you think he could be coming after you?"

Ce laughed and started walking slowly, Quan walking beside him. "I was sure you were going to ask if he was coming after you maid next."

Quan smiled. "Indeed. But rather I am wondering if he his finishing the job that the other assassin started."

Ce walked for a few moments in silence before shaking his head. "I don't know." Ce admitted. "But I am ready for him this time. If that is his mission."

Quan walked with his brother for a few more moments of silence before he faced Ce. "Brother, I know there are some things you are keeping secret- No." Quan held up a hand when Ce made way to interrupt him. "I do not have to know them. But, if the burden of these secrets gets too much…" Quan hinted.

Ce stopped walking and put a hand on Quan's shoulder. "I thank you for your concern. And if I would ever need help, I know which direction I can turn towards. I expect you know that I will always extend the same favor in your direction."

Sun Quan nodded, not really knowing how to handle the situation. It was rare for he and his brother to have moments like these.

"Ce!"

Both men looked to see Zhou Yu walking towards them. Quan looked at his brother and nodded one more time before walking away. Ce turned to Zhou Yu with a smile.

"Any trouble?" Zhou Yu asked with an eyebrow raised as he looked at Sun Quan then back at Ce.

"Nah." Ce said as he scratched the back of his neck. "He offered his help."

"Oh?" Zhou Yu asked, shocked.

"Yeah, I was kind of shocked too." Ce said with another smile. "Got anything?"

Zhou Yu shook his head. "Everyone is accounted for. Minus what he's killed, the numbers are right."

"Quan thinks that he's taken base in one of the closets in the maid's section. It would explain why our numbers aren't off. He wasn't even counted."

"Indeed." Zhou Yu nodded. "Have you began a search?"

Ce nodded. "Yup."

Zhou Yu nodded before asking the question that was on both their minds. "Have you heard about our maids yet?"

Ce shook his head. "Nah. It's been at least an hour though. They should be done by now."

"I doubled their guard so they should be safe where they are at." Zhou Yu reasoned.

Ce nodded. "Yeah I know."

There was a moment of silence between the two.

Ce broke it. "Maybe we should to check on them. You know, just in case."

"Indeed." Zhou Yu said with a smile and started walking toward the healer's room, Sun Ce following.

* * *

_He tilted his head back and took in a deep breath, tasting all the scents of the air. He then sighed and looked down, back at his prey while she worked to heal. His prey. His beautiful assassin. Oh, how she vexed him! But that was okay. He liked it. And the damage she did to him. It wasn't every day that someone hit him and lived to tell the tale. But that was okay too. She was his beautiful bloodthirsty assassin…_

_He looked to see Him walk into the room. Him. The man that he would one day rip the heart out of and keep for his own. His hold on his spear, part of his disguise, tightened as he watched Him walk over to his prey. He grit his teeth as the man casually addressed her. The assassin felt his other hand clench into a fist._

_He felt a touch go to the tip of his shoulder, down his bicep and onto his chest. He turned to see a maid looking up at him with suggestive eyes. Normally he would have sent the whore away with a slap, but she looked a little like his assassin. He smirked and unclenched his hand before tracing a finger down her jaw._

_He then looked back up at his prey. She was still conversing with that man. He scowled again and turned and left the room, leaving the maid who he had touched a little vexed. But it mattered not to him. He had a job to do…_

* * *

"There you go." Da Qiao said as she finished bandaging an old man's arm. "It should be brand new in the morning."

The old man grabbed her hand and smiled at her while he pat it. "Thank you, child."

Da smiled back at him before squeezing his hand. She then turned and made her way to a washing station where she washed the herbs off of her hands.

"Hiya, sis!" Xiao said as she bounded up and started washing her own hands. "Having fun?"

"Actually, I am." Da said with a smile to her sister. "And you?"

Xiao giggled. "Yeah, but the last guy I worked on kept saying I was an angel. I tried to tell him I wasn't but he insisted I was."

Da Qiao laughed. Due to the fact that they were ordered not to leave the room, they had both started helping the medics with the people who were hurt during the storm last night. The girls both knew how to treat injuries. It was protocol for all assassin, the trained ones at least, to know at least the basics on how to treat wounds in case the assassin needed to treat their own wounds when out on an assignment or got hurt.

Da Qiao was trying to get the herb balm out from her fingernails, thinking about everything her instructor had drilled into her head about the art of healing, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked up at Xiao Qiao who was looking at something in the doorway.

Da turned and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Sun Ce walk in, Zhou Yu right behind him. They walked over and began conversing with the commander of the guard.

"Do you think they found something?" Xiao asked in a small voice.

"No." Da said flatly and turned back to getting the gunk out from her fingernails.

Ce shook his head at the guard's question.

Xiao whistled. "Wow. Nice call, sis."

"He's a fellow assassin. We don't leave signs unless it's unavoidable."

"He sure was mad when your pin hit him…" Xiao pondered aloud, her arms crossed as she looked over the room of people.

"Neither of us were expecting that out of him. But, Xiao, his abilities… I'm beginning to think he's trained very well. Even more than us." Da admitted as she continued to scrub her fingers.

"How is that possible?" Xiao asked, disbelievingly.

"His speed, Xiao. You only get that kind of speed with years of training. Years of _intense_ training." Da informed.

"So, what? He's the best of the best?" Xiao did not like where this conversation was going.

Da looked at her. "Who do you send after a fully trained assassin? If what we thought was right, and he is after you, wouldn't they send someone more trained?"

Xiao sat silent and pondered this for a minute. "So what do we do about him?"

"I don't know yet." Da admitted.

"Want to know what I don't get?" Xiao asked as she turned her back to the room and faced her sister.

"What?" Da asked, eyebrows coming together in confusion.

"Why Papa assigned me on this with you. I mean, I like working with you, Da, but killing a prince? You have taken on full families by yourself!" Xiao pointed out. "Do you think he intended to change his assignment all along? But even then, you could still spy and kill them all by yourself." Xiao shook her head. "I don't know. Why did he send me here with you, Da?"

Da Qiao stopped drying her hands when the full impact of Xiao's words fully sank in. "I don't know, Xiao. I really don't know…"

Both of them stared at each other, silently communicating. They were close enough that they knew each other's thoughts without the other voicing them.

"Ladies." A mellow voice said behind them, causing both to jump. Xiao's jump caused her to knock bowls into the water basin. Rather than dwell on that, both turned and bowed down deeply to their masters.

"My lord." They both said at the same time.

"I trust you are both doing better?" Zhou Yu continued.

Both raised up to see amused smiles on both of their master's faces. Da Qiao wanted to slap that stupid grin off of that arrogant, cocky prince's face. No matter what he did for her this morning. He was still that egotistical idiot.

"Oh, yes. Much better!" Xiao said with a smile to match her master's.

"And you, Selene?" Sun Ce asked her, noticing how she was looking every direction but his.

She finally looked at him. "The healers did a great job." She then smiled that dark, challenging smile. "My lord." she added.

Sun Ce, to her utter aggravation, just grinned bigger. She was so going to slap that grin off his face one day…

"We must be going." Zhou Yu said as he looked at the two of them with an eyebrow raised. "But we wanted to check up on you first."

"Does this mean we can leave this room?" Da asked, eyes still on Ce.

"Not a chance." Ce said with that same grin.

Da thought she would scream.

"That's okay." Xiao said carefully as she looked between Da and Sun Ce. "We are having fun patching people up, aren't we, sis?" Xiao asked as she tugged on Da's sleeve, trying to get her sister to stop glaring at the prince.

"Quite." Da said through gritted teeth.

"That's good." Ce said. "You might be here for awhile."

She was going to kill him. She was going to kill him. She was going to kick his arrogant-

"Well, we better be going, eh, Zhou Yu?" Ce asked Yu.

"Indeed." Zhou Yu asked, an eyebrow raised at Ce. What was going on?

"Well, come on." Ce said and started walking away but turned back to Selene. "Oh, I almost forgot. I like the new oufit." Ce said with a smile.

Her outfit was a primary maid outfit as was Xiao's. They were a deep red with gold and tiger skin stitched in. Sun Ce's insignia was etched above her breast, as was Zhou Yu's above Xiao's, marking her as his primary maid.

Da Qiao sent him a glare so dangerous that, if looks could really kill, he would be ashes by now.

"See ya." Ce said and winked before walking out with a very perplexed Zhou Yu.

Xiao Qiao punched her sister in her arm, finally getting her attention off of the way Sun Ce left. "What was that all about?" Xiao asked with her hands in the air.

"He's deliberately taunting me!" Da said in a harsh whisper. "And I'm going to kill him for it." On that promise, she then turned and began to walk away.

"Well good! Considering that was your job in the first place!" Xiao hissed before throwing her hands in the air and walking the opposite direction.

"Angel! Angel!" Xiao turned to see the old man she was working on earlier calling to her, and she smiled and walked over to him. She was still aggravated but decided not to show it to the man. He was a nice man anyways.

"I fear I've dropped my cane." From the chair he was sitting in, he motioned to a black stick on the floor. "Would you mind getting it for me?"

"Sure!" Xiao nodded and began to pick it up.

_Wham!_

Xiao's instincts instantly spiked. Her head shot up and she instantly looked around the room. She saw no one that hadn't been in there for the last hour or so.

"Angel?" the man called to her.

"Oh! Sorry." Xiao rose and handed him the cane. "Excuse me." she said rather distractedly and walked a few paces forward to get a better look around the room. Her instincts were screaming that something wasn't right. She looked around the room to see if her sister felt it too, but there was one little problem about that.

Da was no where in the room.

She made her way to the door, her instincts telling her this was the way to go. She looked up at the guard, but they were all being distracted by the maids in the room who were flirting with them. As one maid leaned in a little too close to a guard, distracting him completely, Xiao slipped behind him and out of the room.

As soon as she was in the hallway, she felt the adrenaline rushing through her veins. Something was about to happen. She walked down a few feet, being led purely by instinct. She came to a corner and put her back to it before taking a deep breath and looking around it.

There, down the hallway, was the assassin. His back was toward her, his head bent backward. He inhaled deeply and seemed to be tasting the air. Suddenly, his head started to turn toward her direction, and Xiao hid back behind the corner as fast as she could. But it didn't matter. She knew he saw her.

She hurriedly ran down one hallway and then another before seeing double doors. She pushed them open and saw it was a kitchen. She heard footfalls behind her and she hurriedly found a hiding place on one of the lower shelves. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she tried controlling her breathing.

After what seemed like forever to Xiao, she heard one of the doors open. She resisted the urge to take a deep breath. It was so very important that her hiding place remain a secret and she kept reminding herself that. She couldn't let him know where she was. And she knew it was him. The lack of footsteps told her that.

His black form suddenly came into her view and Xiao was so relieved to see him several rows down. He looked to the left and then the right, obviously not knowing where she was. He then tilted his head back again, smelling the air like he had done in the hallway earlier.

Xiao moved from her position and started crawling backwards, away from him. When she shelves started to get taller, Xiao stood and slowly walked backwards, her eyes riveted on the assassin only looking back every now and again to make sure that she wasn't going to run into something and give her position away.

When she came close to an alcove, two hands reached out and grabbed her, one covering her mouth, and pulled her into it. The person didn't need to worry about her screaming. She wouldn't have done that because that would give her position away to the other assassin. She did, however, start to fight back.

Then she looked into the eyes of Da Qiao who put a finger against her mouth to signal for Xiao to be quiet. Xiao nodded and Da removed her hand from Xiao's mouth. Xiao was so happy to see her! She should have known her sister would be here. Da had always had the ability to be one step ahead of her in most circumstances.

Xiao nodded toward the assassin with eyebrows raised, asking whether they should attack now.

Da shook her head and mouthed "Later" to Xiao. Neither of them were at their best, and Da thought they needed at least one day to heal. She nodded towards the door, telling Xiao they needed to leave. Xiao nodded before looking at the assassin one last time and starting to move towards the door, Da following.

They slowly made their way over to it, glancing frequently at the assassin who still had his back to them. Da Qiao followed Xiao for a few feet when she glanced and saw the assassin throwing something at Xiao's direction. Da Qiao gasped and pulled Xiao back.

The object hit the wall and Da and Xiao both looked to see Da Qiao's hairpin. The one she had used on him earlier. Xiao hissed and pulled it out before turning and looking at the assassin. Behind her and Da something fell off of the shelf Da had pulled them towards to avoid the thrown object, making a loud racket that echoed in the kitchen. Xiao looked back at Da, knowing what that meant.

The clock had started.

They now had a minute, maybe less, until someone was there to check on what ever made that noise.

Xiao Qiao turned back around to face the assassin and gasped to see him already striking at her. She doubted, with the late timing she took to look at him, that she could dodge it in time. But she needn't have worried. Da Qiao caught the hand that he attacked with and twisted it to make his arm stiff. She then elbowed his back and Xiao, who went around to his back, helped Da with a kick to his back, sending him face first into the wall.

They both turned and made way to run out of the room, but the assassin spun and grabbed Da Qiao's foot and sent her flying to the floor. She rolled over just in time for him to face him as he was trying to climb on top of her.

His actions were cut short as there was a huge clang and he fell back.

Xiao Qiao dropped the pan she had hit him with and helped Da up before they both took off toward the door. They jumped over various objects, trying their hardest not to knock anything else over. More noise would make more people come faster. When they reached the double doors, however, they wouldn't budge.

"He's barricaded the door!" Xiao cried out.

Both girls then turned to look for other doors and found one set on the opposite side of the kitchen and another on the side that they had last seen the assassin.

"Where is he?" Xiao asked.

Da shook her head. "I don't know. Let's get to the other side to those doors."

Da made Xiao walk in front so she could cover her back. They made their way over there cautiously. Not knowing where the assassin was made both of them weary. Xiao grabbed Da's hand and started jogging down the row over to the door, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible.

Suddenly, a stack of pans fell in front of their path , blocking it. They both gasped and turned to run the opposite way. A long sword suddenly stuck out from one of the lower shelves directly in Xiao's path. She was running too fast to stop so she jumped over it to avoid it. When she jumped, the assassin jumped over the low shelf and tackled her, knocking Da back.

Xiao and the assassin fell to the floor and they instantly started to battle each other to get the upper hand. The assassin rolled on top and used his weight, significantly more than Xiao's, to keep her there. He tried to pin her hands down but she was fighting too much for that. He pulled his hand back to give her a ringing slap.

Xiao looked up to see his hand coming down and she was about to block it but a ringing of a blade was heard. The assassin made way to slap Xiao but his hand hit steel as the blade he stuck out to stop Xiao's impediment was thrown into the wall to stop his movement to hit Xiao. He turned to hiss at Da who had thrown the blade.

The distraction was all that Xiao needed. She punched the assassin, knocking him back enough to get her legs loose. She then kicked him, making him slam into the wall beside them. She scrambled up, getting help from Da, and they both took off towards the double doors.

They burst out from the doors, looking back at the assassin before turning around…

…And running straight into the arms of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu.

"What the-"

"Aurora!"

"He's in there!" Xiao said as she ran behind Zhou Yu. "He's in there." she pointed from behind Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu looked at Sun Ce with a raised eyebrow and many of the guard who had followed Ce and Yu to investigate the noise in the kitchen looked up at Ce with frightened looks. In just a few days the assassin had made quite a reputation and was feared by many.

Sun Ce's eyes narrowed and he moved Selene behind him, towards Zhou Yu.

"Stay here." he said, moving toward the kitchen.

Sun Ce opened one of the doors and was shocked by the mess in there. He then made his way in slowly and started to investigate everything, keeping an eye out for the assassin. Zhou Yu moved over and held the door open, keeping an eye on Sun Ce and the girls. Sun Ce looked at several different things before choosing to look at a spot on the wall that looked like it had been stabbed and a little bit of smeared blood was below it.

Suddenly, a pan flew from somewhere in the kitchen and hit the wall in front of Sun Ce who ducked backwards. Da Qiao gasped and Zhou Yu ran into the room and glanced at Ce before seeing the assassin run out of the kitchen. He turned and ran back out into the hall.

"Follow him!" Yu ordered the guard and they took off down the hallway. He turned toward the kitchen just in time to see Ce emerge.

Sun Ce looked at the guards running before turning to Selene. "Come on. We need to get them back to the room." He looked pointedly at Selene. "We could talk about _why _they left later_."_

"You're guards will lose him, Ce." Zhou Yu cautioned.

"I know. We need to get them to the room quickly and figure out how they left in the first place. You can take point."

Da and Xiao shared a look, wondering how they were going to get out of that conversation. They started walking, Zhou Yu in front, Ce in back, and the girls in the middle. Zhou Yu stopped at a corner, looking to make sure that nothing was down the next hallway.

They resumed walking down several corridors, Zhou Yu stopping at most corners to make sure the assassin wasn't anywhere in sight. They came down a corridor with several doors down it. One door was open and a dim light was coming from it. Zhou Yu stopped, causing Xiao to be in the open doorway of the room, and turned around to say something, claiming Sun Ce's and Xiao Qiao's attentions. But not Da's. In the shadows of the hallway beside them, she noticed a small, insignificant movement.

And it was heading straight for Xiao.

Da pushed Xiao with all her might into Zhou Yu, effectively moving into the space Xiao occupied. Then a huge object hit her with impressive force and Da felt like she was flying. The assassin tackled her legs and pushed her into the open doorway of a room behind her.

"Sis!"

"Selene!"

Da Qiao hit the floor and air rushed out of her. She took a moment to get her breath before trying to get up.

"Sis!" Xiao said and made way to help her.

"Are you hurt?" Ce asked, coming to her other side to help her up. Da shook her head but leaned on him while she got her breath back. Ce's arm came around her waist, pulling her closer to his chest, while he looked around for the assassin.

"Where's the assassin?" Zhou Yu asked Da, pulling Xiao behind him, and leaving one arm back holding her wrist to make sure he knew where she was.

Da Qiao's eyes got wide with shock and she was about to say she didn't know. That she thought that they knew. But the light in the room significantly dulled and the sound of a door closing was heard. They all whirled to see the assassin slide a bolt into place and break the handle off. He then faced them and the realization of the situation hit all of them.

They were all now trapped inside the room with him.

* * *

**Yeah, kind of short. I had a huge chapter written and thought that it was way too long so I cut some of it off into a little chapter. The next one should come sooner seeing as I have tons of things coming up and I want you guys to have a chapter that doesn't have a cliffhanger in it. So don't be suprised if you get a new chapter within the next week or so.**

**I want to hear from you guys what you think will happen. When I read a story I'm constantly going over tons of scenerios in my mind about how it's going to play out in the end so I would love to hear similar things from you! Feel free to drop me a little review and such and I'll be sure to get back with you!**

_**ShadowingPassion9532**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 of My Poisonous Kiss (Finally)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Da grabbed Xiao's hand as she saw those icy blue eyes. With the door shut, the room was more dim with only the few candles lighting it. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu instinctively moved back towards the girls.

Abruptly, the assassin attacked, leaping the short distance at the group. Da pulled Xiao to the side of the room, into the shadows to dodge the attack. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had other plans.

Sun Ce jumped in front of the attack and bent to grabbed the assassin's legs to throw him behind him. The assassin, shocked that someone would attack him, was too shocked to do anything. Soon, like Xiao, he was flying.

The assassin was thrown over Ce and towards Yu. Zhou Yu angled his body and hit the assassin's feet, making the assassin flip in the air. The assassin landed on the table with the candles on it.

There was a commotion as the assassin landed on it, breaking the table and knocking the candles over effectively knocking out all of the light. As soon as the light was out, there was another commotion of everyone trying to move in the dark.

Then it all got silent.

Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao were against one of the walls, barely breathing. They stayed connected by holding hands, knowing where the other was in the pure darkness through that contact. Da Qiao was troubled though. If she didn't like the odds before, she definitely didn't like them now. They were all in a dark room with a trained assassin wanting to kill them. In this darkness, how would she know who was assassin and who was general?

In this darkness, everyone was an enemy.

Thunder rumbled.

When silence reigned for several minutes, Da pulled on Xiao's hand to tell her to follow. Da navigated through the room with ease. Darkness was her element, her comfort. She needed to make her way to the door though and open it for the rest of them. In this circumstance, darkness wasn't her friend.

Da Qiao made her way to the door with Xiao slowly but efficiently. She needed to get it opened as soon as possible, and then she needed to find Ce and Yu and get out of here. She could fight the assassin later. Other people's lives were at stake here.

She and Xiao both stopped simultaneously as both their instincts said that something wasn't right. Suddenly, the ringing of a sword splitting air was heard. Xiao and Da both let go of each other as the blade made an arc right where their joined hands were.

Da rolled on the floor then dashed several feet and put her back to a wall. She breathed in and out in controlled breaths, careful to not let them get too loud in the room where the littlest sound would echo.

Da let out a breath of disappointment as panic ran through her. She now had no clue where Xiao was.

Xiao Qiao had dodged the swipe of the blade and was now pressed against a wall. She had no clue where anyone was, let alone Da Qiao. Xiao slowly made her way down the wall, intent on getting in a corner and figuring out her surroundings.

She slowly felt her way around, not liking that there was no light to guide her way. She reached out and tried to touch the corner that she was sure was supposed to be there, but touched fabric instead.

There was someone already standing in the corner she was trying to hide in.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and clasped hers.

Zhou Yu leaned his head back against the wall, trying to hear all the noises in the room.

His eyes popped open and stared into the darkness before him as he heard the tiniest sound coming from in front of him. He braced himself for what he thought was an incoming assault from the assassin.

When someone just touched the fabric of his robe.

He shot out and grabbed the hand and pulled the person close before feeling at their face. He was surprised they didn't put up a resistance. As he felt their face, he realized that he couldn't tell by that alone.

As if to answer his unasked question, the person put their hand to his face. A bandaged hand. That's when he noticed the eyes. It was pitch dark in the room, but her eyes were glowing. Not enough to get her noticed but enough to signify who she was.

Zhou Yu felt a flood of relief. It was Aurora. He found her, or rather she found him. And from what he could tell, she was okay. Unharmed. He didn't know what he would do if the assassin had hurt her.

Thunder sounded.

There was a loud crash across the room, and Zhou Yu pulled her to his chest and put both arms around her. Xiao listened in the silence as her head was resting on Zhou Yu's chest for any other sound of movement. But silence reined, and Xiao never thought that had sounded so loud before.

_Please be okay, Da. _Xiao thought as her hands grabbed handfuls of Zhou Yu's robes. At her actions, Zhou Yu held her closer as his hold on her tightened.

Da Qiao counted to three before moving a few feet on the wall, then stopping. She counted another three seconds, and moved again, the bottoms of her maid outfit were balled up and in her hand to keep it from trailing on the ground. That was why she thought her and Xiao had been caught the first time in trying to make for the door.

Da moved again and again, trying to make it to the door. When she moved again, however, there was a ring in the air as something was thrown and hit the wall in front of her. The loud crash made her step back and it took everything Da had not to gasp at the sound.

Suddenly, a hand struck out and hit Da in the chest. She stepped back several feet but did not fall. Another hit came towards her, but she dodged it. She rose up from where she had dodged the last blow and reached out to feel of the face of her attacker. There was cloth covering the entire face.

The assassin.

The assassin knocked her arm away and struck at her again, but Da dodged that also and struck out and hit his chest. The assassin recoiled but jumped at her with full force. Da and he fought for several moments, each trying to get the upper hand on the other.

Da struck out with her hand again, but the assassin deflected it and flung it back, making Da's upper torso spin with the force of his deflection. There was a ringing of a blade and before Da had time to react, a stinging pain sliced through her thigh once again, making Da cry out.

"Sis!" Xiao yelled from somewhere in the darkness as Da felt the assassin moving to hit her.

Da Qiao deflected his hit on a last second instinct and dealt him an attack of her own. She struck out with her hand but the assassin caught it. Something Da had wanted him to do.

She pulled him toward her and hooked her foot behind his and pulled it out from underneath him, and he fell backwards onto the floor. Da's feeling of victory was short lived, however, because the assassin didn't let go of her hand, and she went down to the floor with him with another cry of shock.

Da Qiao hit the floor and the air that she had just acquired back went flying out of her. Before she could recover, the assassin was on top of her, straddling her. The sound of a blade rose once again in Da's ears, and Da found out what kind of blade when he put a dagger to her throat.

Da Qiao quit breathing when she felt the tip of the dagger hit her throat. She looked up in the darkness where she imagined the assassin's face, and knew his icy blue eyes were showing triumph.

The assassin slowly, ever so slowly, leaned down to almost where his nose was touching hers. Da Qiao's heart beat increasingly loud in her ears, and she couldn't do anything but hear it.

The dagger in his hand tightened on her throat and Da Qiao's eyes widened. She couldn't die this way! She analyzed the position of their bodies and was about to attack.

Suddenly, just as quickly as the assassin's body had moved on top of her, it vanished, as did the dagger that was held to her throat.

Da Qiao gasped in shock when she heard scuffling beside her. She scrambled up and turned in the direction of the sound, trying to see through the encompassing darkness. But she couldn't do anything but listen.

The scuffling continued in what seemed to Da to be endless. There was a commotion as the two people who were fighting hit something, and a grunt. Da knew that grunt. It was Sun Ce's grunt. That thought made her heart skip a beat.

All of a sudden, someone was flung from the fight to across the room and hit the wall.

"Sis!" Xiao yelled again.

"Aurora!" Da yelled, trying to figure out where in the would Xiao was in the dark room.

She didn't have time to think about it, though, as footsteps from where the fighting had taken place made their way at running speed towards her. Da Qiao made a move to move out of the way, but someone slammed into her but caught her before she fell.

The person then ran with her to the other side of the room, in a corner. As soon as the person dropped her, Da pushed away from them, but the person grabbed her hand and pulled it to their face.

Da was about to run but stopped when she realized she felt no fabric covering his face. She raised her other hand to the person's face and began feeling. She then lowered her hands to the person's chest and abdomen, causing the person to take a sharp intake of breath.

Da Qiao knew exactly who it was. Without thinking, she hugged Sun Ce, wrapping both hands around his waist and she felt his arms engulf her as they had last night. He was safe!

That was when what exactly Sun Ce had done fully hit her. He had taken on a fully trained assassin, in the dark, and had won. He really must be the god she believed him to be.

Sun Ce held her in his arms, relieved that she was okay for the moment. He knew she was hurt, but he also knew she was safe now. Just like he had shielded her from the storm last night, he was going to shield her from this assassin. Even if that meant shielding her with his own body.

Thunder resounded around them.

Sun Ce pulled her back at arms length, confusing Da. She then heard the rustle of fabric and something drop to the floor. Sun Ce then reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled it to his chest. Da Qiao's mouth opened in shock. He had taken his shirt off. He led Da's hand down to his abdomen then back up where he stopped on his chest.

Da Qiao was thankful that it was dark, because she was blushing profusely. But she got Sun Ce's message. If they should become separated, she could tell him easily by him being shirtless. She raised his hand to her face, her chin, not her cheeks where her face was flaming hot, and nodded, letting him know she got the message.

Sun Ce nodded, although she couldn't see it, and grabbed her hand before trying to maneuver in the darkness. His destination was the door to get light into the place. Little did he know, the other duo of maid and master were moving around too.

Xiao Qiao rested her head on Zhou Yu's chest, listening to the sounds of the room. Da was okay. She had called out her fake name. That meant it was the prince who had tussled with the assassin. But now the room was quiet once again, and she couldn't hear anything.

She slowly raised her head up and faced Zhou Yu. With her uninjured hand, she tapped on his lips with a finger, telling him to be quiet. Then she grabbed his hand and slowly pulled him through the room, trying to make it to the door. Her senses, on edge in this dark room, picked up nothing. She couldn't feel or sense anyone, and that made her panic.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash and Xiao tripped over something that had rolled from the commotion, and she fell to the ground. Her tripping brought Zhou Yu down with her and he fell on top of her.

The noise suddenly ended and Zhou Yu, his body on top of Xiao's, froze. He tried his best to make sure all of his weight wasn't on her, but when he tried to raise up, his robes started sliding and he started to go back down, but Xiao's hands shot to his collar and pulled him back down close to her quicker. Any noise his robes would make by falling would give away their position.

But Xiao, in her haste to pull him back, pulled him in closer than he was initially, and his face came so close to hers that he could feel the breath coming out of her.

Xiao inhaled sharply and breathed out an "oops". But the damage was done. If Zhou Yu moved, their positions would be given away. So he was forced to be pressed rather intimately to her body, in a dark room, with an assassin lurking somewhere waiting to kill them.

Not only that, but now he had images of him leaning only a few inches downward and kissing her like he had failed to do that night. To finish that spell. But he, being the perfect gentleman, refrained from doing so. That didn't mean his thoughts were so gentlemanly. She was right there. And he could do nothing.

His day was going great.

Sun Ce and Da Qiao were having similar difficulties. At the sound of the commotion, Sun Ce had turned and had pressed Da to the wall then covered her with his body. Da Qiao was currently blushing profusely and Ce was trying to send mental messages to her to stay still.

Every movement of hers caused her fabric to rub against his bare chest and every movement sent a rush of her scent towards his nostrils. Sun Ce closed his eyes and grit his teeth. He tried to remember there was an assassin on the loose, one trying to kill them. But Selene would move again and his thoughts were scattered.

Sun Ce shot out his hand and grabbed her arm, begging her to stop. He had never experienced this kind of torture. She was an assassin, but instead of cutting off his fingers or breaking bones to torture him, she only had to exist. Her, her scent, her body, it was all torture. She herself was a weapon.

Possibly the only weapon that could bring him down.

Another crash happened and Ce pressed into Da more as Xiao and Yu scrambled to get up. Zhou Yu jumped up, grabbing Xiao with him, and ran till his outstretched hand hit a wall. He spun and hit his back to it before pulling Aurora towards him. Xiao Qiao's back was pressed to his chest, one of his arms around her shoulder and the other around her waist.

There was another commotion and Ce and Da moved again, trying to cover as much ground as they could before the noises stopped. When the noises stopped, the position that Ce and Da had ended up had Da confused with how it happened. She was now lifted up into Ce's arms, both her arms wrapped around his neck. Her back was pressed to the wall again, and his arms were around her waist. Da, blushing more than she had in a while, tried to slide down to the floor, but when she started, Ce took a sharp intake of breath and his hands around her waist stopped her descent.

Ce couldn't take her sliding down his body like that. He grit his teeth as he tried his hardest not to lean in and kiss her. He had to remind himself that there was an assassin on the loose, wanting to kill them. This was not a time to be thinking about kissing Selene. So he politely moved back the slightest degree and put her to the floor himself. But that didn't stop the mental images of her sliding against him from popping into his head.

Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao had moved also, only their position was more appropriate. But due to their earlier position, the manner of the position didn't matter to Zhou Yu. Just being remotely close to Aurora made every one of his nerves on edge. Her back was against the wall and on either side of her head was his hands, planted on the wall. Her hands were on his chest, grasping handfuls of his clothes. He wondered if she knew what that contact did to him.

Sun Ce was pressed up against Da again, and he tried his best not to let his imagination get carried away. He started to shift his footing to help ease away from her, but his foot hit something. His facial expression was one of puzzlement, and he leaned down slowly to pick it up.

It was a bucket for water. As soon as Sun Ce identified the object, his mind started racing. He grabbed on of Selene's hands and squeezed it once for her attention. Then he turned and threw the bucket to the opposite side of the room. At the sound of the clash, Sun Ce dashed, Selene coming with him.

As soon as the sound of the thrown bucket stopped, so did Sun Ce's running. He bent down and began searching for another thing, but Selene tapped his shoulder and he heard something rattle as she put something in front of him. He hurriedly grabbed the object and threw it and grabbed Selene's hand as he made another dash for the door.

Another thing was thrown but this time Ce didn't throw it. Soon, there were many things being thrown. Sun Ce smiled, that had to be Zhou Yu. Sun Ce, still holding Selene's hand, started feeling the wall trying to find the door while Zhou Yu covered his noise by throwing things.

Before he could find it though, Sun Ce heard running footsteps coming close to him and he instinctively backed up to cover Selene.

There was a loud crash and the room suddenly filled with light. Everyone stopped what they were doing and whirled to see the assassin run out of the room. He had busted out of the room due to the increased commotion, thinking the four people were devising a plan to corner and kill him.

Everyone squinted their eyes at the rush of the bright light of the blazers that was coming in from the hallway.

"Zhou Yu?" Sun Ce called out.

"Over here." Yu answered and Da and Ce looked to see Xiao and Yu with buckets in their hands.

"Let's go check it out." Ce said before turning to Da. "Stay here." He ordered.

"You too." Zhou Yu said to Aurora before putting his bucket down and walking out of the room with Ce.

"Sis!" Xiao cried as she dropped her bucket and ran to embrace Da.

"Oh, Xiao Qiao. You're safe!" Da said as her hand rubbed Xiao's hand while they embraced.

Xiao Qiao stepped back. "Da, you're bleeding! I can feel it!"

"I'm fine, Xiao. It's just a scratch." Da said with a smile. "It probably looks worse than it really is."

"All clear." Sun Ce said as he and Zhou Yu came into the room. "Come on, Selene, we need to get you a medic." He then, to Xiao's amazement, picked her up and began carrying her out of the room.

"What about you two?" Ce asked while they all walked out. "Any injuries?"

"Aurora's hand has reopened." Zhou Yu said as he picked up her wrist to examine her hand.

"Holy…" Ce said as he stopped and looked down at Selene, the light of the hallway giving him better visual of the amount of blood on her. He quickly walked over and set her on a bench. "Where were you hit, Selene?" He asked as he was examining her.

Xiao Qiao came around and looked before gasping.

Da Qiao was also shocked by the amount of blood on her. "Only my leg!" Da said as she looked at both Xiao and Ce. "The rest of this isn't mine!" She looked at him. "Were you cut?"

Ce shook his head. "No, I wasn't."

"It must be the assassin's blood then." Zhou Yu concluded.

Ce nodded. "That means we got a hit on him. Are you sure it's just your leg?" he asked.

Da nodded and glanced at Xiao.

"Alright." Ce said before picking her up. "Let's get you back to the healer."

"Ce!"

Everyone looked to see Sun Jian along with Sun Quan and Shang Xiang and other various guards running toward them. Sun Quan stopped before most of the others and narrowed his eyes at the maid who was currently in his brother's arms. Then he saw the bloody mess she was.

"Oh, my." Shang said as she looked down at Da.

"How did this happen?" Sun Jian asked, his eyes wide as he looked at Da.

"I'll explain it all later, Pop. Right now I've got to get her back to the healer. There's another room back there you need to light up and look at. I'll be there in a minute to explain everything."

Ce then continued walking and walked passed Sun Quan who raised a curious eyebrow at his brother, but said nothing and let him pass. Sun Ce looked over at Zhou Yu with a curious glance, who looked back equally curious, before looking away.

Da, grateful to be away from all the attention, leaned her head against Ce's chest, suddenly tired as the adrenaline wore off. She felt a small, almost imperceptible, tap on her foot and she looked up to see Xiao looking down at her worriedly. Xiao looked at Ce then Zhou Yu and then looked at Da meaningfully. That's when what Xiao was thinking really set in.

How were they going to explain this situation without blowing their cover?

Da leaned back. Sun Ce would no doubt use this against her. She was betting money Zhou Yu would use it against Xiao. She looked at Xiao who gave her a trusting smile. How could she betray that trust? She had gotten both of them into this mess. How was she going to get them both out of it?

Da sighed slightly. She was going to have to figure out a way though.

Even if that meant using poison…

* * *

Zhou Yu followed a fast paced Sun Ce down the corridor towards the room that their earlier scuffle happened. They had dropped their maids off at a healer's room and were currently returning to said room to explain everything that had happened in there to Sun Jian.

Zhou Yu glanced over at Sun Ce for the umpteenth time, wondering whether he should broach the subject that no doubt rested heavily on the Prince's mind.

He decided to be brave.

"Quan was looking at you again, Ce." Zhou Yu started, glancing at Ce again.

"I know." That was all Ce said as he continued his walking.

"Your father is going to ask questions, Ce. Questions that we don't have answers to."

"I know."

"And Aurora and Selene, their reactions to the attacks were different from an ordinary maid. That's prime evidence that they know more than they are letting on-"

"I know, Zhou Yu, I know!" Ce snapped, his walking stopped as he said that. "I know that Father is going to ask questions. I know Quan is suspicious! But I have other things to worry about, Yu!"

Ce turned away from Yu and walked a few steps before sighing and running a hand over his ponytail.

"Ce, I didn't mean-"

"I know." Ce said as he turned back to Yu with a smiled. "Trust me, buddy, I know what you meant by telling me that." Ce said as he put a hand on Zhou Yu's shoulder. "The last thing we need right now is you and I arguing. I'm sorry."

Yu smiled. "No one ever said being sworn brothers would be easy."

Ce laughed and turned and sat on a bench. "Indeed." Ce then took a long breath before looking at his sworn brother. "You are right, though. Selene and I need to have a talk about what happened today."

Yu smiled again. "How will you accomplish that?"

"I don't know."

Yu laughed. "Now that is a phrase you haven't said in the last five minutes."

Ce smiled and nodded. "Tonight is going to be different, though. She usually runs to avoid the conversation." Ce looked at Yu. "Tonight, though, I'll make sure she won't run."

Yu didn't voice his concerns in this matter. It would do no use anyway. "I will attempt to get information from Aurora as well."

Ce looked up at Yu with a smirk. "I can't wait to see that outcome. She's different than Selene. I wonder what her reaction would be."

Yu shrugged. "I guess time can only tell. But come. We need to get to the room and while we are getting there, we need to think of a story to tell your father."

Ce stood up. "Ah, we got a few hallways to go. Besides, he will probably make us lead a search team anyways. And I'm sure we could come up with something. We are getting pretty good at stories anyway."

Yu laughed. "Indeed."

He followed Sun Ce, seeming outwardly to be cool and confident. But really he was unsure with how he was going to interrogate his maid. Then there was her reaction that he wasn't sure of.

He didn't know what the night held for him. And he didn't know what exactly he was going to say to his maid.

* * *

"_Deny it with every breath in your body, Xiao."_

Da's words rang in Xiao's ears as she turned down Zhou Yu's bedcovers that night. The men had been out all day searching, so the maids were sent to help with serving and other various tasks.

Her and Da Qiao were allowed out of the healer's room only under the protection of Ce and Yu's own units. The unit was supposed to stay with them at all times, and a guard was leaning on the doorway that led into the room. Several other guards were patrolling through the chamber and even more posted at the door.

But it was nighttime once again and Xiao was turning the bed covers down, awaiting Zhou Yu's imminent return. Her thoughts were troubled. There was no logical way to explain everything, and Zhou Yu, being a thorough person, would want to know every detail.

"_But, Da, what if they ask us how we learned to fight?" _Xiao had asked.

"_They didn't see any fighting, Xiao. Only us chasing him. If they do ask, we shall just say we learned from previous masters."_

Xiao Qiao didn't tell Da that she thought that wouldn't work. Xiao didn't tell Da about Zhou Yu holding her close in the closet. Xiao didn't tell Da about how she felt last night. Xiao didn't tell Da about the spell Zhou Yu had tried to cast on her last night.

Xiao Qiao also didn't tell Da that Zhou Yu had nearly kissed her.

Xiao Qiao didn't seem to be telling her sister anything anymore. Which is why she just nodded her head to Da's instructions and had proceeded to her master's chambers, a feeling of slight dread on her shoulders and a horde of guard accompanying her. She, deep down inside, knew it wouldn't work. She also speculated that Da had had similar feelings, but she wouldn't tell. Da would never tell.

Xiao Qiao pulled out clothes from a trunk and began folding them and setting them neatly on the bed when she felt a presence nearby. She looked up and listened as she heard the guards open the doors, and a pair of boots began walking towards her position.

Zhou Yu nodded to the guard who bowed and left. He wouldn't leave the chambers completely, but instead would begin patrolling them like the other guards.

Xiao turned around in time to smile to Zhou Yu. "Good evening, my lord. I have turned down the bed and laid clothes out for you. Would you like for me to prepare a bath?"

Zhou Yu looked at her and that dazzling smile. He once again thought she looked like dawn.

"Please?" He asked of her.

Xiao giggled. "Of course." She picked up his clothes and made her way to the bathing chamber. "Come, my lord."

Zhou Yu followed her, not being able to take her eyes off of the way she moved. She wasn't graceful, exactly, but she wasn't awkward either. Rather, she was that perfect in between that he, dealing with court ladies and their "graces", found rather refreshing.

She set down his clothes on a stool and turned to him with another one of those magnetic smiles and gestured toward the tub. He turned to look and was surprised to see it already filled with warm water. There were linens he would use to dry off with neatly folded beside his clothes. Bath oils of many a variety awaited his choosing.

"You have already prepared it?" he asked as he looked at her puzzled. "How would you know I would want it?"

Xiao shrugged. "After everything you have been through, my lord," She started as she walked around him and helped pull his overcoat off, "I figured you would really like a relaxing bath."

"You speculated right." Yu said with a smile as he shrugged out of the clothing.

She put the overcoat over her arm to wash later. "Is the water to your liking, my lord? Do I need to cool it or add more hot water?"

Zhou Yu walked over to the water and dipped a few fingers in before smiling with a small headshake and facing her. "No. It is perfect."

"Okay then. I'll be out here if you need me." she said and with another smile, she was off.

Zhou Yu watched her go before he turned to the bath water. If she was indeed an assassin, she could have poisoned it. Zhou Yu looked at his fingers that he had dipped in there earlier and saw no signs if irritation. He glanced at the water then back at the door she had vanished into and shrugged.

He began peeling off the other clothing and tossing them aside, deciding he would take the chance. He needed to relax before having a serious talk with her.

Zhou Yu walked out of the bathing chamber a little while later, wearing everything but a shirt. Said clothing was hanging down in his hand. He scanned the room and found Aurora hanging up clothes for him tomorrow.

As soon as she was done, she turned and faced him and bowed with a smile.

"Aurora," He said, his voice betraying no emotions. "I was wondering if we could talk."

Xiao Qiao's heart hammered in her chest but she betrayed nothing as she cocked her head and asked, "About what?"

Zhou Yu stood there for several moments, clearly not knowing how to answer the question. The moments felt like years to Xiao as she tried her best to control her emotions and her breathing. She really wished he would say something other than just stand there. He could cough or look away or fall or put the shirt on or something!

Finally he raised the hand that didn't have his shirt in it, and motioned her to follow him. He nodded to several guards as he passed them, making his way to his intended destination.

Xiao didn't know if she liked this any better. Maybe he should go back to not being able to talk?

He led her into the study that they had had their scene from the night before and nodded to the guards in there that they could leave and patrol somewhere else.. He sat her in the chair she was in yesterday before pulling a chair up in front of it and sitting in front of her, just a few feet away.

He looked at her for a moment, her expression one of curiosity, and then looked at her hand.

"How is your hand?" he asked her.

Xiao smiled. "It's okay."

Zhou Yu nodded before speaking again. "Aurora, in light of today's events, I have just cause to believe you and your sister are in danger. But-" he said quickly when Xiao had opened her mouth to speak. "before I offer my protection, there are a few matters we need to discuss first."

"Like what?" Xiao asked as she sat forward and began bobbing her leg.

Zhou Yu noticed the movement but didn't think anything of it. The movement was just an outward show of her personality.

He sat there for another long moment of silence, in which Xiao got more antsy, before standing up and leaving his shirt in the chair. He crossed the room and slowly got his thoughts straight.

Xiao Qiao, however, had enough. Being an assassin, she was not used to information being withheld to her nor was she used to someone not speaking their mind to her. So she decided to inform him of the fact. Kind of.

"My lord, whatever it is that you are wishing to tell me, just tell me." She said with a huff.

Zhou Yu turned around, slightly shocked by her straightforwardness, but got caught up in the cute little pout she had on her face.

_Focus, Zhou Yu._

"As you wish." He said before voicing his concerns. "You know who my sworn brother, Sun Ce, is?"

Xiao nodded. "The man my sister works for."

"Correct." Zhou Yu turned around again. "You are, then, aware of the attempt on his life not too long ago?"

Xiao's heart skipped a beat. "That was before I got here, but yeah I know about it from the other maids."

Zhou Yu doubted very seriously that that was how she had heard it. At least how she first heard it. "Sun Ce has come to me and he speculates that the assassin who had come after him," Zhou Yu turned to face her. "was none other than your sister, Selene."

Xiao just sat there, an emotionless statue. Her bobbing of her leg had stopped and now she was staring at Zhou Yu with wide eyes.

Suddenly, a smile pulled at her face and she burst into giggles, leaving Zhou Yu completely puzzled.

"My sister?" Xiao asked between giggles. "An assassin? That's a good one!" she said as she looked up at him.

He just looked at her, not smiling at all.

"Are you serious?" Xiao asked, her face and eyes suddenly hard.

She received no answer.

"Why?" Xiao asked barely above a whisper. "Why do you think this?"

"Because Sun Ce saw her face that night." Zhou Yu answered simply, not really able to tell if her emotions were fake or not.

"What?" Xiao asked.

Da had said that the prince was out! There was no way he could have seen her face if he wasn't there. That's when Xiao realized that this might just be a test to see how she would react.

"You're wrong!" She shouted at him and stood up. "Selene would never do that!"

"Sun Ce has never lied to me before, Aurora. He said he saw her face in the forest-"

"Lies!" Xiao hissed. Then something dawned on her. "Wait, if you think my sister is an assassin, do you think I am one also?" Xiao asked slowly.

Zhou Yu just sighed. "None of that matters now." he started making his way over to her. "What matters is that you are safe-"

"How long?" Xiao asked, retreating from his advancing form. "How long have you thought this? Since the day I got here?" Xiao asked, her little hands balled up into fists at her sides.

"Aurora-"

So he had known. From day one he had known. He had known she was a fake. But that meant…

"It was all fake, wasn't it?" Xiao asked as she looked at Yu, her voice a whisper.

Zhou Yu stopped in his tracks. The tone in her voice and the way she looked at him made him stop cold. The tone of her voice was calm but disbelieving. And the way she looked at him… She looked at him like she didn't know him. That he was some weird being that had fallen from the sky.

"Aurora, I don't understand-"

"The guards, leading me to dinner, reciting me poetry, bandaging my hand, nearly kissing me." She said each of these with a step toward his shocked form. "It was all fake wasn't it?"

"Aurora-"

"Gods, I'm so stupid!" Xiao said and turned away from him. "It was all fake!" she whirled to face him again. "It was all to gain my trust, wasn't it? I'm not your stay maid or primary maid because of my skills! You just wanted to keep an eye on me!"

Da was right. Da was so right…

"Aurora-"

"Don't!" Xiao nearly yelled, a hand held up to him. "I think you have already said enough."

Zhou Yu stared at her, trying to think of something, anything, to say. But his mouth kept opening and closing and no words were coming out. He saw the look in her eyes… And remembered when he had that same look. Last night, as she had walked away from the dining hall, he had looked at her disbelievingly. He had never wanted to suspect her of something like murder.

And now, she was looking at him with those eyes. Those disbelieving, hesitant, and even angry, eyes for totally different reasons. He wanted to reach out, to touch her and tell her that it wasn't fake. That he was as swept away as she last night. That he would have given anything to have Quan show up ten seconds later. But he couldn't. She would think he was lying again.

Zhou Yu opened his mouth one final time to dare to speak. To make her believe him.

_Knock. Knock._

Zhou Yu and Xiao both looked at the hallway that led to the door. Xiao glanced at him before walking out of the study, obviously agitated. Zhou Yu watched her for a minute before he followed her to the outer chambers where Xiao reached the door.

Xiao opened it. "He's right there." Xiao said as she opened the door wider and pointed to Zhou Yu before just walking toward her maid's quarters.

Zhou Yu watched her leave, a little shocked. He wasn't the only one who stared after her. The rest of his guards stared after her also, shocked as Zhou Yu was about the maid's behavior. Zhou Yu remembered the visitor and turned to the person at the door. A guardsman.

"M-my lord, Lord Sun Jian wishes to see all generals for a few minutes in the conference room." the guard said, shocked as every one else was by Xiao's rude behavior.

Zhou Yu nodded. "Thank you."

He shut the door and turned to yell for Aurora, but when he turned, a shirt hit him in his face. As soon as he was able to pull the shirt off, he saw Aurora's door slam shut, signaling that she would not be following him.

Zhou Yu, feeling lower than he ever had before, put the shirt on and opened the door. Before he left, he turned and nodded to Xiao's door to a few of the guards who hurriedly ran over and stood guard at it. He glanced one last time at the door, then left.

Xiao leaned with her back to her closed door, both hands clasped over her mouth as silent tears ran down her face.

As soon as she heard the door close, signaling Zhou Yu's departure, Xiao unclasped her mouth and slid down the door as sobs resounded in her maid's room. Tears fell down her face more than ever and Xiao didn't even bother to wipe them off. Another would just take it's place anyway.

Da was right. And Xiao didn't listen to her. And now, she was paying for it.

He had played her for a little fool. And she had fallen for it.

"So, so stupid!" Xiao cried out as she slapped the floor with each word she said. She pulled her knees up to her and laid her head on her knees, crying. She tried wrapping her arms around herself to make her feel comfort from them, but it didn't work. She only cried harder.

Da. She needed Da. She needed her sister. She needed to tell Da everything. From what just happened to what happened the last two days. Da would know what to do. Besides, she needed Da to tell her everything was going to be okay…

Xiao stood up and decided against putting on her assassin outfit. All the patrolling people were looking for someone wearing that kind of outfit. It would be wise to stay in her maid uniform.

She opened the door from her maid chamber that lead into the main corridor. The door was a secret one was there so she didn't bother her master when she left to retrieve supplies during the night. But now it just served her purpose in getting her to her sister faster and without being seen by the guard stationed at the door.

She peeked at the guards, who weren't looking at her, and dashed down the hallway towards the Prince's quarters. Dashing towards the one person she really needed at that moment. She made her way there as fast as she could, ignoring the tears that cascaded down her beautiful face.

* * *

Sun Ce walked toward the double doors of his chamber, one of his guards holding it open. The two guards who were following him joined the two guarding the door.

"Thank you." he nodded to the guard before walking in and hearing the door shut behind him. He stopped and looked around his chamber and saw no sighs of Selene yet but saw plenty of guards. He slowly made his way to his bedroom, where he found her turning the sheets down on his bed, a guard standing at the doorway.

She moved to go to the other side of the bed to straighten an errant wrinkle, but upon raising up, realized Sun Ce was in the room. She looked up at him with a gasp. "Oh, my lord." she said with a hand over her heart. "I didn't hear you come in. Um, I've turned down your bedding and laid out fresh clothes for you." she gestured to a neat pile of clothing on a stool. "Would you like for me to prepare you a bath?"

Sun Ce nodded for his guard to go join the others before shaking his head. "Nah, I cleaned up before the search. I'll take the fresh clothes though."

Da nodded and picked up the clothes before handing them to him. "Will you need help, my lord?"

Her question made him pause, raising an eyebrow at her. Da Qiao just stared up at him innocently.

"No. I can put the clothes on by myself." he said before disappearing into the bathing chamber.

Da Qiao heard him lock the door and she glared at it. She thought about picking it and letting it open just to let him know that a lock wouldn't keep him safe. But, being the good maid that she was, just turned away with an exasperated scowl and started picking out clothes for him for tomorrow.

Maybe she could put some poison in his clothes? The rash would do him good. Especially if she put it in his pants…

Sun Ce emerged from the bathing chamber with his new clothes on. He watched Selene putting his clothes for tomorrow up while he fixed his shirt from being caught in his heir's band. She was bent, trying to get one of his shirts out of a trunk, her lips parted slightly.

Sun Ce couldn't help but focus on those lips, and then he was thinking about what her kiss would taste like. He then shook his head and tried to stop thinking such thoughts. Then she raised up and began trying to put his clothes up in the closet, turning her back to him. His eyes, though he tried unsuccessfully to fight it, made their way down to her backside.

Sun Ce turned away from her and whipped his hands across his face. "How are you feeling?" He asked, trying to make conversation. He had to talk to her about what happened earlier today anyways.

Da Qiao turned and saw his back to her and raised an eyebrow. Lord Sun Ce was a very funny man. "I am well, my lord. The healers did a very nice job taking care of me."

Sun Ce turned back to her and nodded. "Selene, you know we need to talk about what caused your injuries." He saw her stiffen. "And why you left the healer's room."

Da Qiao fully faced him and looked him in his eyes. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Sun Ce sighed before running a hand over his ponytail again. "Selene, can we not argue about it? I think I deserve to know! I saved your life today and I have protected you far longer!"

Da Qiao looked at him with her glowing eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Why do you think guards didn't follow you that night?" Ce informed her. "They didn't because I said I didn't know which way you went."

Understanding finally dawned on Da, and she looked away with a blush.

Ce took a step toward her. "I think after today and every other thing I have done for you, I deserve the truth."

"My lord, you saved my life today, but that night that you are constantly talking about to me, never happened!" Da said. "I cannot give you the truth, my lord, because giving you 'truth' would mean me lying about my whereabouts. I was not in your quarters that night, and this constant battle between us about that fact is getting very old!"

Da then turned and began to stalk out towards her quarters but she suddenly found herself shoved up against the wall. She turned, very agitated, to see Ce standing over her. He put two hands on either side of her on the wall.

"Not tonight, Selene. Tonight we are talking about this without you running." He was sick of her running. Tonight, he was going to take the lead.

"Let. Me. Go." Da said levelly.

"What was your plan that night, Selene?" he asked, ignoring her statement. "Seduce me, make me say all my secrets, then kill me?"

"Seduce _you_?" Da asked incredulously. "And what is this that you are doing?" Da motioned a hand to signify his position on her. "A new interrogation technique?"

"What was your plan that night?"

"Let me go." Da said, really getting pissed.

Ce narrowed his eyes. "I bet, right now, that you could name one way to kill me."

"I could name seven." Da said evenly.

"So that's it. You are here to seduce me. Everything about you is fake. Your name, your sister's name. Even your fear of storms! For all I know you faked that to get me in that bed quicker-"

_Slap!_

With strength she didn't know she had and anger she didn't know she possessed, Da had drawn her hand back and slapped Lord Sun Ce, Prince of Wu, with enough force to nearly make his whole head spin.

By the time Sun Ce turned to look where Da should've been, his eyes flaring with anger, she was no where to be seen. He looked around the room and didn't see her either. With a hand rubbing where she had slapped him, he started walking around his chambers, trying to be as quiet as possible.

She wouldn't leave his inner bed chambers. There were way too many guards patrolling in his outer chambers. She would be a fool to do so and fool was one thing he was certain she was not.

His footing caught on something and he looked down to see her maid outfit. She had apparently discarded it soon after she had taken off. He looked around before slowly bending down and picking it up, never taking his eyes off of the surrounding area. He rose and looked at the maid outfit a little more closely before looking around again.

"Is this the way it's always going to be, Selene?" He yelled out only loud enough to be heard by her and not the guard. "You always running?"

Suddenly he was kicked towards the wall, but he managed to catch himself. Before he could recover and attack with a little fire of his own, she kicked the back of both his knees and he slammed to the floor and this time into the wall.

She grabbed the outfit from him and wrapped it around his neck, and with a knee in his back, began to pull on it. Effectively choking Sun Ce. Sun Ce, not one to easily accept defeat, reached back and found the one leg she was balancing on and pulled it out from underneath her.

Da squealed and fell to the floor. Sun Ce ducked out of the way of the outfit and turned to Da who was trying to get up and run. She didn't get far because he grabbed her waist and threw her back up against the wall, trying to capture her hands.

Da Qiao couldn't let him get her in another hold. She fought with him with every fiber in her being. She was not going to get caught again. Sun Ce tried harder and just when he thought he had her, she grappled his wrist and used the incredible speed like she had the other night, and had him flying into the wall again.

Sun Ce rose up in time to see her running toward his bedroom. He got up and ran down another hallway, other than taking the route she chose to get to his room.

Da Qiao rushed into his bedroom and was almost out of the room when she was suddenly tackled onto the bed beside her. She felt Sun Ce's weight on top of her. She didn't know how many times she secretly wondered how it would feel to have his weight on her, but these were not exactly the circumstances she had in mind.

Sun Ce was on top of her, trying to pin her arms down. Da Qiao wasn't giving up easy. Finally, after a few minutes, he managed to grab one of her hands. This only served to make her more mad. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of winning. With her available hand, she knocked his elbow that he was using to keep himself balanced and rolled him onto his back and straddled him. Sun Ce began trying to fight back.

Then Da pulled a dagger out.

She had it in her free hand, pointed at him to strike. Sun Ce didn't move. He didn't contest her any longer. Doing so could end up in him losing his life. Instead, he stared at her.

He could've stared at her dress since she was only wearing simple undergarments. He could've stared at the dagger that was in her hand, hanging over him menacingly to take his life. But he found himself staring into her glowing eyes instead.

She looked at him with anger, hurt, frustration. At first, her glowing eyes were only riveted on his face, anger showing she was ready to end his life. But, after a few tense moments, her eyes took on new emotions. She searched his face, probably trying to see why he wasn't attacking back. After a few more moments, her eyes were frantic. Looking at both of their positions with mostly hurt. And then Sun Ce saw something in her eyes that shocked him to the core.

Tears.

There was a chattering noise as the dagger fell from her hands to the floor. Da Qiao hurriedly got off of Sun Ce, and he leaned up to see her backing away from him, a hand to her mouth and tears falling down her face. She kept shaking her head like she couldn't believe what she had nearly done. Then she turned her back to him, not letting him sit there and witness her tears. She kept her back to him, warring with herself over what just happened.

She felt two hands on her shoulders.

"Selene. You trusted me today in the closet. Is it so hard to trust me now?"

Silence.

"Selene, I've only wanted to protect you, to help you. That's what I want to do now. But you have to trust me and tell me the truth." Ce reasoned but Da still didn't answer.

Ce turned her around to look at her, but she wouldn't look at him. She had her arms around herself, her head turned to the side. Sun Ce reached out with one of his hands and turned her face toward him. She finally looked at him.

"I'm so sorry…" She said, new tears forming in her eyes.

_Knock. Knock._

"_Lord Sun Ce?"_

Da Qiao made her way to open the door but Sun Ce replaced his hands at her shoulders, stopping her.

"Yes?" Ce called.

"_Lord Sun Jian wants to meet with all the generals for a few minutes in the conference room."_

"Okay." Ce told the guard before sighing and facing Da again. "I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

Da nodded, her tears no longer falling.

Ce turned and left then. At the sound of the door closing, Da released a sob and ran to her quarters. She shut the door and put her back to it before falling to the floor crying.

She had to kill him. She had to kill him. She _had_ to kill him. But…

"But, oh goddess, I'm not strong enough…" Da said before crying harder.

"_Don't let me down, my beautiful girls…"_

Da Qiao raised her head up when she remembered her father's voice.

"…_keep each other safe."_

She stood up slowly, her thoughts racing. She heard guards take their placed at her door, but she didn't pay any heed to it as she made her way over to the mirror across the room.

She needed to do her job. To protect Xiao. She had gotten Xiao into this mess. She was going to get her out.

"_I'll prove it."_

"_Not before I kill you first."_

Her promise rang in her head as she stared at the mirror. She looked at the face that stared back at her. Those glowing green eyes. She hesitantly reached out and touched the mirror, right where a tear was stuck on her cheek in the reflection.

"_Not before I kill you first…"_

She removed her hand from the mirror, her glowing eyes narrowing. She had promised herself that way too much over the last week, and not acted on it. She had brought herself and Xiao into this mess, and now she had to get them both out.

She was an assassin. A killer, trained from an early age. Destined to be one from the moment of her birth. What could she ever think could come from having feelings for a prince? Despite being a Duke's daughter the most he would make her would be his mistress. His… whore.

Da Qiao swiped everything off of her vanity in anger. She would be no man's mistress! No man's whore! She looked at the mirror again, this time, her eyes showed the green fire of anger. She was going to do her job, even if that meant killing his whole family. And she was going to kill that assassin then report to her father. After that, she was going to take Xiao and they both were going to take time off at her castle.

At that moment, she, Da Qiao, finally decided to kill Sun Ce, Prince of Wu.

* * *

_He stood in the hallway, staring at the picture on the wall with an unfathomable expression. His chest rose up and down in even breaths as he did so. To anyone passing by, he would have looked content, even happy to be staring at the picture._

_But he was nothing but livid as he stared at it._

_It was him. The man. The man the assassin wished he could rip the throat out of and laugh as the blood… and the body… fell onto the floor._

_The man had touched her. Her. His prey. His possession. His… beautiful, bloodthirsty, assassin…_

_And she had let him. She had enjoyed it. And he seethed at it. She couldn't hide it from him. He could tell it. See the wonderment at what just one touch could do in her eyes._

_And yet, she had looked at him with hate. Pure, unhidden hate. Why must the touches that she gives to that man be gentle, but the blows she dealt to him be bone breaking? She was his! Not that other man's._

_He stared at the picture of an enemy he never expected for a long, long time. And slowly, ever so slowly, a smile formed on his face._

_His eyes looked on the picture with menace, but the assassin smiled. He suddenly threw his head back and laughed a deep, cruel laugh that resounded down the empty corridor._

_He pulled out his sword and slashed the picture where the man's throat was before walking down the hallway, laughing that same, weird laugh_…

* * *

**You're just like poison**

**Slowly moving through my system, breaking all of my defenses with time.**

**You're just like poison**

**And I just don't get it, how could something so deadly feel so right?**

**I'm not sure of what to do, it's a Catch 22 because the cure is found in you**

**I don't want it but I do, You're just like poison**

**My affliction, I'm addicted, I can't lie**

_**Kiss me one more time before I die…**_

* * *

**So what will happen now? Anyone want to guess? I did enjoy writing the closet scene with the assassin. It was dangerous and yet sexy and seductive all at once. My kind of scene for this story. Beyonce's "Poison" is the closing lyrics. **

**Most of you will be happy to hear that I do have most of the next chapter for Are You Jealous Yet written! But I'm going to have to split it into two parts because it's really getting long. And I mean waaay long. It's just picking up where I left off on that story that's so hard. But i will get it done. It'll probably be a while though because there is still so much to write.**

**Anyways, drop me a review on your way out, will ya?**

_**ShadowingPassion**_


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